I Like You, Jerk
by bidiza
Summary: Snippets of Musa and Riven throughout the years. A look into the start of their rocky friendship, and how they've both navigated an even rockier relationship. "You know, you can be a real asshole sometimes." Riven gave a dry laugh, "Yeah well, I'm your asshole, so I guess you'll have to deal with it."
1. The First Meeting

**So I've been re watching winx club lmao. It was my favorite show as a child and I've been itching to write something that has a little more substance to it than the actual show itself. I'm now an adult, and as a kid I loved Musa and Riven, specifically the dynamic the two of them had together, but it was clearly a very toxic relationship. So I thought I would re write it for my own validation starting from the beginning. **

**I'm going to do my best to make sure these characters stay as believable as possible, but I plan to kick it up a notch and put some more violence and adult themes into the mix. Which I think can be a bit difficult with how benign the actual show was. But honestly, if these were real teenagers fighting a magical war things would be a lot more intense. **

**For context I've only watched the 4kids version, and only up till season 4. In these one shots I don't plan to go past season 3 probably, and if I do it'll have nothing to do with any of the plots from the other seasons of winx. I frankly don't really like the new transformations, and feel like they really sucked all of the personality out of the girls as the seasons went on. **

**This is completely unbeta'd, I'm really just writing these one shots super casually, and I'm only using myself to re-read and check for grammar and spelling so apologies if there are any errors. **

* * *

Musa woke to a yell and a crash.

The sound of ceramic breaking as it hit the tile of the living room floor was quickly drowned out by Flora's airy tone of disapproval, presumably directed at Stella. Flora always found a way to be as considerate as possible even when in distress, but if Musa had to guess, Stella had knocked over another one of Flora's plants that were haphazardly scattered all over the counters onto the floor of their shared living space.

"Well _excuse_ me, but I didn't choose to inherit my mother's birthing hips. I don't always have control over where these babies swing Flora!"

Musa heard a snort echo from the other side of her room, apparently Tecna had also been woken up by the squabble happening outside their door.

"You know, you'd assume those two would be able to get along better, seeing as their powers really compliment the other," Tecna, always the analyzer in any situation.

"Yeah, well, one of them loves dirt and the other loves shoes, and Stella has a hard time with understanding spacial depth."

Tecna laughed lightly and nodded in amusement while she swung her legs over the side of her bed, slipping on her house shoes. Guess it was time to wake up with the rest of the world after all. Musa had hoped to get at least a little more sleep before potions class.

The five of them had been living together for 3 months now, and for the most part it had been great. Better than Musa expected, honestly. They were slowing becoming her best friends. She had been prepared to hate her roommates, knowing that even though princesses with a lot of money and privilege were all great and good, they were not her type of people. She wasn't a princess, or of any type of royalty, and had just been a commoner born with a high amount of magical energy. She assumed her mother's side had had a few fairies scattered throughout it, though, but had never been able to get any solid info about that out of her still grieving father.

So when she started to show signs of great potential, and her wings had painfully come through about a year ago, her dad had decided he was going to send her away to Alfea. Half because she should do something amazing with her power, he had proclaimed to her on the same day he'd also broken the news she'd be going to fairy boarding school. And the other half, Musa knew, was because it hurt her dad immensely to know that her powers were centered around music and sound. A cruel joke for him, an amazing gift to her.

When she had found out about her powers, she all but peed herself. Not only was it amazing to be able to pull a hiphop beat out of thin air, or break someone's eardrums with just the flick of her wrist if she was ever messed with, but she was now even more connected to her mother, and that thought always made her break out into a toothy grin.

Musa rose from her bed slowly, and grabbed some clothes from the floor as she made her way to her shared bathroom with Tecna to change and shower. Today was going to be a long one. On top of potions this morning, she had a presentation in Magical History of the World, and later in her Intro to fighting For Fairies, the freshman were having their first real battle. It would be in a controlled space of course, but it was still a bit intimidating. She at least had all of her roommates in that class, it was the only class they all shared, and she prayed they'd all be put on the same battle team.

Musa couldn't help but want to prove herself. She sometimes felt like the odd one out being just some girl who struck luck and got to be magically gifted. Most of the girls here had been told from birth they would amount to something great, it was in their blood. It was in their _bones_. Healer or Godmother or Soldier, it didn't matter. They were destined for an abundant life with wealth and power. If Musa didn't play her cards right, she'd just end up playing music at lame bars across Magix for the rest of her life. Alfea was a great opportunity, and she wasn't going to waste it.

At least she wasn't completely alone, Tecna was in the same boat she was. A non royal girl who just happened to be of a higher magical status than others. It's why Tecna was her favorite, they had bonded over that commonality very quickly after first meeting. Flora was also technically not a princess, but she was still part of the higher royal court on her home planet.

Musa could here some of the girls getting ready for their respective classes. Tecna had already left to go study at the library. They both shared the same history class, but Tecna seemed to care a lot more about acing there exam about the attack on Blair by the Trolls than Musa did.

As she stepped out of the shower, she inhaled deeply. The whole bathroom smelled of eucalyptus and lavender, her favorite. She pulled her short hair into her signature pigtails, still wet. Musa could only imagine what Stella would say to the fact that she was letting her hair air dry in this type of hairdo. _It's not proper!_

Her piercings were next. She had both ears pierced three times, two on the lower lobe and then both her industrials. She had also gotten her nose pierced a month ago, now free of her dads rules and regulations. Stella had almost fainted when she saw it, and had rudely commented on how she thought she looked like she was one hole away from a street hooker.

After that remark her and Stella had really gotten into it, screaming their bloody heads off at one another. Musa would have most likely blown up their dorm if it hadn't been for the other three girls physically holding her back from using her magic at the blonde. Even though she was the smallest out of the group, reaching a whopping five feet when standing vertical, she could really pack a punch if given the opportunity. Stella had squeaked and flown away into her unshared room, slamming and locking the door. Musa had calmed down eventually. Everyone else had seemed to think the piercing looked good on her though.

She quickly pulled up her favorite jeans as she was running a little late, light blue and mom style with just the perfect amount of rips with the studded buckle she always wore still wrung through the belt loops. Her red band T-shirt of choice today had been thrifted, and so had the dark purple converse she was slipping on as she ran out of the dorm, her spell books tucked neatly under her armpit. She might not have had the riches for designer clothes like some of the other girls here, but she still tried to express her own individuality nevertheless.

She closed the door to her dorm and let out a sigh. She knew today was going to be a bit wild, and she was as prepared as she could ever be.

* * *

Riven walked down the halls of Red fountain with a quick step. It was late afternoon, and he had just gotten done with his class on Weaponry and Tactics, and he was ready to crash. His mood was mild today, but he knew one wrong comment from a classmate or teacher would set him right off. Nothing was more annoying than a nagging freshman, or know it all professor.

As he opened up the door to his dorm, which was shared by his other three roommates. (Sky would correct him and say, "We've lived together for a year now dude, can't we be elevated to friend status at least?" Riven would just tell him to shove it.) He noticed Brandon was pacing on his phone, talking in frantic bursts.

"Yeah I know sweetie, Stella li-," Brandon paused and held the phone out so the shrikes of his panicked girlfriend wouldn't leave him deaf.

He put the device back to his ear when he heard the sound falter a bit, "Were coming! We just need a little time. This mission has already been approved by Codatorta, so you girls just need to hold off the beasts as long as possible."

Brandon clicked his phone shut, and turned to Riven.

Riven raised a brow, "The hell was that about? Blondie break a nail or something?"

Brandon crossed his arms, looking perturbed, "Play nice, Riven. Apparently Stella and Bloom and a few other fairies had their intro fighting class today and a contained scheduled battle with some ogres was their assignment. Stella said things have gotten out of hand though, and now they need backup."

"And let me guess, we're the backup?"

"Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not quick, " Brandon teased as he threw Rivens uniform at him. He then grabbed his own with haste, "Now get changed, Timmy and Sky already have the ship heating up."

Riven flopped onto the couch, letting his uniform fall to the ground, "Pass."

Brandon halted his movements, "Riven, there is no 'pass', this is now a sanctioned mission, not just an excuse to go rescue some pretty girls."

Riven groaned. He knew something was gonna find its way to shit on his mood, and this was that.

"Yeah, because even in my free time I wanna go rescue some helpless pixies. What-fucking-ever, this better not take the whole afternoon or i'll be pissed."

Brandon gave him a weary smile and a thumbs up, uniform clad and ready. Riven had half a mind to break that thumb, but knew that would just be cruel. As they walked out of their dorm, Riven made sure to slam the door extra hard just to get across how peeved he was.

"God you're melodramatic."

"One more word and i'll make sure you end up with your insides on the outside."

Brandon put his hands up in defeat, "Okay okay, I concede."

Under his breath, however, Brandon couldn't help but whisper, "You just proved my point further though."

The bruise Brandon would be nursing on his arm was gonna be a doozy, but it had been worth it for the last word.

As they flew to Alfea, Brandon had gotten another call from Stella, shrikes still prominate. Apparently the monsters had backed them into the magical forest, and the girls were slowly running out of winx. They were only freshmen after all, and between all of them they had little to no battle experience. Riven just rolled his eyes.

"Did she give you an exact location? The magical forest is very vast, it covers a lot of Magix." Timmy was the one flying the ship, even though Riven had insisted he should be since they needed to get somewhere quick.

Brandon nodded, "Yeah she sent it to me via text, i'll tap it into the monitor."

The fairies were apparently fifteen miles from the Alfea grounds, and Riven was dumbfounded as to how the hell they had been pushed that far from the school. That was just basic battle strategy, never let your opponent get you into their home turf.

Timmy sighed, "They're far from the school, but we will be there any minute. Let Stella know help is on the way!"

Brandon nodded, "Will do Timmy."

A few minutes passed, and then Sky spotted something on the screen, and paled, "There! I see a bunch of heat signatures. Six fairies and what looks to be four large creatures, bipedal."

"That's for sure them, Stella had told me it was six freshman and some nasty ogres. Let's find a open space for landing, and quick."

As they descended, Riven noticed that the ogres the fairies were fighting were at least twelve feet tall, if not taller, and carrying various malignant weapons. At least they didn't have any long range magic, but that didn't mean they were any less deadly. Those fairies were definitely in over their wings.

As the ship touched the ground, the boys grabbed their weapons and exited off the ships doc. They were a little far from the girls, but that gave them enough time to think of a strategy as they made their way towards them. Four ogres was a lot, but they could handle it. As long as those fairies could get their act together and fight alongside them.

Riven heard Stella yell, "Brandon! Boys! Oh thank God!" and watched as she stayed in her fighting stance, sending sun blasts at the beasts. Even though Riven could see her fighting all of her urges to fly towards her boyfriend and feel him up. Stella may be vapid, but she was still a warrior.

Riven noticed that two out of the six fairies were lying motionless in the clearing, a few feet away from the raging battle. For the schools sake, Riven hoped they were still breathing. That would be one hell of a lawsuit on Alfea's end if either of those pixies were dead. The other four were still putting up a decent fight. The two Riven didn't know were clad in pink and purple, and looked to be just as bruised and bloodied as Stella and Bloom were.

Brandon and Sky had maneuvered two of the four ogres away from their counterparts, a clear tactic to break up the power imbalance. Timmy was a little farther away, sending blasts from his laser gun at one of the other creatures, working with the two unknown fairies, and aiming for the known weak spots.

Riven was about to jump in, sword glowing and adrenaline pumping through his body when he heard a crack like a aircraft breaking the sound barrier echo on his right. _The hell?_ He felt a monstrous gust of wind blow past him, kicking up grass and dirt and also his hero's cape. He saw a flash of red rush past, and if he had been any less of a warrior, the blast would definitely have sent him falling down onto his ass.

That flash of red had been a fairy, and when Riven refocused, he noticed she wasn't planning to stop as she sped forward towards the fight. She was going _fast, _faster than any fairy he'd ever seen fly before. He didn't even realize pixies could catch speeds like that. She was rivaling some of the most aerodynamic aircrafts that red fountain had to offer.

Riven noted Stella and Bloom shouting a quick, "Musa!" before the girl barreled right into one of the ogres, purple glowing fist connecting to blue flaky skin. A nauseating crack echoed off the trees of the forest, and the beast went _soaring_ into the tree-line, clearing a sizable opening.

Riven couldn't detect if that sound of breaking bone had been that of the ogres face or the red fairies hand, but he smirked nonetheless. Things were getting interesting now.

The fairy, Musa, he presumed, turned to Stella and Bloom, "Hey girls, sorry i'm late! But I got flo's SOS message and echo-located you as quick as I could. We were able to deal with our ogre pretty quickly, but it looks like yall's called in some ugly company."

Riven was nothing if not quick, and he put together that this fairies power must've had something to do with sound. It was clear from the displays he had seen and the comment about echolocation.

Bloom perked, "Were just glad you came when you did. That was great Musa! You saved our butts."

Before Riven could scoff, he noticed the ogre that Timmy and the other two fairies had been keeping occupied was now heading towards the three other girls, and was right in their blind spot. Riven knew he wasn't going to make it to them in time, and he watched feebly as the ogre swung its metal club at the three of them. The tip of it had brushed both Stella and Bloom, sending them skittering across the grass, but with minimal damage. The red fairy however, was hit with the full force, and was sent flying in Riven's general direction.

He braced himself, knowing he could catch her if he stayed in the spot he was in, and planted his feet accordingly to account for her impact. When she hit his chest, he curled both his arms around her and swung her to his side, using the shock of the impact to his advantage to cause as little damage to both him and her as possible.

After a few moments of her just hanging limp in his arms, he heard a strained, wet cough and saw blood splatter onto the grass below where her head hung.

"Fucking..christ that hurt."

Riven could only bet. She squirmed, and he took that as her wanting to be put upright, and he did so with ease. This girl couldn't have weighed more that a hundred pounds, and when she stood fully he took note of the fact that she only came up to about mid chest on him. She swayed, and he put both his hands onto her shoulders to steady her. Riven noted Stella and Bloom were now back to fighting the ogre that had punted their little friend like a baseball.

He looked down at her and took her in. First he noticed the blood covering both her mouth and left hand. Then he noticed her stupid hairdo. Two short pigtails sat high atop her head, with a set of bangs covering her forehead. black strands of hair were going every which way, wild and untamed. A bunch of piercings, and she was of asian decent. And her winx outfit was definitely different, if not unorthodox.

A red leather skirt and tube top, with a light purple sheer long undershirt instead of the usual sparkling spandex. Metal spikes adorned the bottom of the skirt and the choker that was around her neck. She wore a pair of white hightop Nikes, which were incredibly dirty, and fishnets covered her pale her legs. A set of purple headphones was slung around her neck and he could faintly hear some random rap music being played from them. Her wings were light purple, and the only real sparkly thing about her whole getup*.

Riven wasn't going to lie and say he didn't think she was a little cute. What could he say, he liked the punk look, sue him. But girls were a hassle nevertheless. Especially ones that could one punch an ogre six times her size.

She brought a hand up to her face, and smeared away some of the blood that was trickling from her mouth, "Uh, thanks I guess, for catching me I mean."

Riven crossed his arms, defensive as ever, "Yeah, sure, it's my job. But maybe next time pay closer attention to your surroundings. Your gonna get yourself or someone else killed being that absent minded."

Riven hadn't meant to sound so arrogant, but coddling new fairies wasn't on his list of specialist skills.

She glared at him, quickly going from disoriented to down right pissed, "Okay, first of all _who even are you_? second of all dude, the last thing I need is a cocky son of a-"

Riven heard a, "Look out!" and saw that a bolder was heading their way, thrown by that same ogre that had sent her flying just seconds ago. Even _if _Riven wanted to stand hear and listen to this pixie throw insults at him, he'd rather live through this fight to see another day. He pushed her off to one side, and used that momentum to send himself flying in the opposite direction. The bolder missed them both, rolling into the forest and leaving both of them disoriented but unscathed.

Riven watched as the red fairy slowly picked herself up from the ground, her wings expanding like a butterflies, "That's it! I'm done playing this stupid fucking game!"

Riven didn't really know what that meant, but he surveyed and she flew back into the fight, rage covering her face along with dried blood.

"Tecna, Flora, i'm gonna use my super sonic to rock the ground, once I do can you capture these three in a deep web vine cage combo?"

Both girls nodded at her, and Riven watched as the girl got onto her knees and raised both of her small fists over her head. They started to glow purple, and the air around them started to vibrate erratically. Riven had definitely been right about her power source, and watched as she brought both her fists down onto the ground. The dirt around the ogres started to shake and break, causing their large bodies to sink down into the earth. The sound waves made the ground unwalkable, but the fairies were able to stay in the air perfectly upright, giving them an advantage.

The specialists, however, were all brought to the ground along with the ogres, but were able to stay above due to not being as large at their opponent.

The enemy had been caught off guard, and were unable to fight on such unstable terrain. The fairies had gained the upper hand. The pink fairy, Flora, (Riven was slowly piecing together names), brought up a hand and blew some sort of spore at the creatures. That seemed to make them become groggy, and fall asleep within seconds. Then both Flora and Tecna combined their magic and formed some sort of cage around the beasts. The fairies had contained them, and once Musa had lifted her powers the specialists were able to stand back up and run to go grab the ogre shackles from the ship.

"Timmy, can you phone into red fountain and tell them we need some manpower and the ogre cages?"

The specialists were now restraining all of the ogres, making sure to make the cuffs as tight as possible in case they decided to wake up from their magic induced slumber.

"Already did! Cordatorta should be here in a few minute with some ships and backup."

Leave it to Timmy to know what Riven was gonna ask before he even thought the question.

Bloom and Flora, seeing that the battle was over had made their way over to their unconscious classmates. They were clearly alive from the way they the two fairies were reacting to the bodies. Riven was sure if they had actually been dead there would have been a few more tears and screams. Flora waved a hand over the both of them and they jumped awake, clearly startled from being abruptly brought back to consciousness.

Stella had made her way to Brandon and was chattering his ear off, but Brandon was clearly okay with it from the light pink that dusted his cheeks and the way he leaned towards her as she talked. Riven would never understand Brandons attraction to the blonde. She was hot, sure, but too half-baked for his taste.

Tecna, concerned about her friend, flew over to Musa. She clearly wanted to check on her, since after she had brought down her powers she had fallen right onto her back, laying in the uneven earth and breathing heavily, not moving.

Tecna quipped, "Are you alright, Musa?"

Riven was close enough to hear the two girls exchange, and noted that Musa replied with a pained grunt, "Uh yeah, I think? My left hand is for sure broken. Also I think I broke a rib, or six, because it hurts like hell to breath." Riven heard her spit up another mouthful of blood, and wasn't that shocked at how unladylike this particular fairy held herself.

Clearly from her fighting style, this girl didn't give half a shit if her whole outfit was covered in blood and dirt by the time she was done with an enemy.

Tecna gasped, "Oh my, um, what would you like me to do? I can call the Nurse? Perhaps the headmistress?"

Musa chuckled, clearly amused by her friends concern, "Nah dude, can you just magick me to the infirmary? They can deal with me from there."

Tecna replied with a quick, "Oh yes of course," clearly forgetting she could do something like that. But before she magicked her away, she inquired, "Do you think that fourth ogre is still out there?"

Musa, even with her broken and pained body, laughed boisterously, "Dude, no way in hell! I know I smashed that bastards face in so bad he's never gonna get back up. Besides, even if he survived the actual skull break, I put a subsonic wave behind the punch, so his brain has literally gone from a solid state to a liquid one. Trust me, I wouldn't worry about him Tec."

Riven leaned his head around the body of the ogre he was currently cuffing and saw that Tecna had paled considerably, clearly not accustomed to that type of violence Musa had just described. With a silent nod of understanding and a shaking hand Tecna transported Musa to Alfea, and Riven watched as Musa's body was whisked away magically to the infirmary to be put back together.

Codatorta and a few other students had touched down about a minute ago, and all of the ogres were now restrained and caged and ready to be transported back to high security. The other fairies had started the fly back to Alfea, except for Bloom and Stella, who had stayed back to talk to Brandon and Sky. But they too had been shooed away eventually by Codatorta, saying they were distracting the boys from an important teaching moment.

Riven just snickered.

On the fly back to Red Fountain, Riven couldn't help his mind from drifting to that deceivingly brutal fairy. He had never seen a pixie fight like that before, with so much fist and vigor. She had put her whole body into that match, unlike most other fairies who were long range fighters due to their magic. And he knew most of them tried their best to stay as far away as they could from whoever they were fighting, caring a great deal about their outfits and hair.

She did the exact opposite, though, getting as up close as possible. Not to mention that _punch, _it had shook the whole forest. However, she seemed to not be able to escape the air-headed tendencies of her counterparts, and really needed to pay more attention to her surroundings. Maybe her ribs would still be intact if she had focused in instead of gossiping with her friends mid-fight.

Riven knew it was a risk of being teased relentlessly to ask about her, but he couldn't help himself, he wanted some information.

He slowly turned to Brandon, "So, who was that one red fairy? The one who punched the ogre?" He knew her name, he had gathered that much in the battle, but did not want Brandon to think he was paying more attention to the pixies then he let the specialists assume of him.

"Ohh, did you think she was cute? Riven I didn't take you for the fairy liking type. Thought they were a little too bubbly for your taste." If he could throw Brandon off this ship he would.

"Fuck off, asshole. I'm just curious, she had a good left hook."

Brandon turned to fully face him, a contemplative look framed his features, "Her name is Musa, she's one of Stellas roommates. Those other two are as well that you saw, Tecna and Flora, and Bloom, but you knew that already," Brandon paused, thinking of where to go next, "She's from the Harmonic Nebula, and she's just a commoner from what Stella explained. Apparently she's one of the fastest flying fairies to ever go to Alfea," Brandon paused as Riven snorted, a nonverbal 'no shit' released into the air, Riven had pieced that together no problem.

Brandon continued, "Her powers are tied in with music and sound, and she's also apparently brassy as hell from what Stellas told me. I guess they get into it quite a bit, her and Stella, and Stell has dramatically retold the stories of how Musa had almost blown her off their balcony with magic more than once." Brandon chuckled, clearly more amused by the stories than worried for his prissy girlfriend, "She's nice enough though, funny as hell the few times i've been around her outside of battle."

Riven quietly soaked in the information, intrigued. She sounded troublesome if he had to be honest, but he couldn't help but want to see what she was like around people outside of a battle.

"Oh! She can also play like, ten different instruments too which is pretty cool."

Riven hummed, but didn't say anything further. He really didn't want to give Brandon or the rest of the guys any ideas. He was barely going to live down just asking about her, so he definitely didn't want them to assume he had a thing for her. Which he didn't, but he did find her compelling. And he was a knowledge seeker, now knowing she was a roommate of Stella's, which meant that he'd be seeing more of her with Brandon being as whipped as he was and Sky playing all nice with that redhead.

Riven sighed, this was going to be a long year.

* * *

***So I'm also an illustration student currently studying in art school, so I've been drawing the girls as I've been re-watching the show as well as writing lol. you can find my stuff on my instagram bidiza_ or my tumblr bbidiza , and Musa was the first one I redesigned so go check it out! I remade both her winx transformation and her everyday casual look! **


	2. Boy Meets Girl, for Real This Time

**Okay first thank you all for the support! Your comments made my whole day! I really expected to just kinda post these into the void and not really get a response because this fandom is a little dead. Secondly, I really plan to slow burn the hell out of Musa and Riven, and build them from the ground up. So it's gonna be awhile before we get to smoochy smoochy romance gush.**

**Also re writing Riven so he's not a total asshole is _hard_. And making believable magical teenagers is even _harder_.**

**Again this is unbeta'd, so if there are any grammatical or spelling mistakes it's my bad.**

* * *

Stella had all but bullied the girls into having an impromptu sleepover.

First semester finals had been going on, and Stella had somehow convinced them all to take a much needed break, even with all the homework they still needed to complete.

She had first suggested they go shopping, saying she needed to get a few more basics for the upcoming cold weather, but it was Flora who has sat her down politely and explained they all didn't have a endless pit for a bank account. Sometimes Stella forgot they weren't all drowning in money and riches. So they had all collectively agreed on a sleepover instead.

It was late in the day, and all the girls had just gotten done with classes. It was a beautiful fall evening, and as the girls all brought their respective blankets and pillows to make a communal nest in the living room, Flora opened the doors to their shared balcony to let some of the cool air trickle in while they all relaxed.

Some pizzas had been ordered, thanks to Stella and her pit of a bank account, and they all had decided to do a spa night. Musa wasn't the most keen on doing her face up and putting that expensive goop Stella called a hair mask into her pigtails, but she didn't mind getting her nails done. Besides, she needed a fresh coat of black, seeing as her last paint job was almost all chipped off.

"Come on Musa, can't I paint them some other color, all you ever wear is black nail polish! It's so drab."

All the girls were snuggled into the now made blanket fort, and the pizza had been dug into thoroughly. It had been a while since Musa had consumed real people food, as it seemed this school believed its student body was made up of diet crazed rabbits, not real growing teenagers.

Stella was currently trying to sell her on a coral pink for her short, anxiety bitten nails, and Musa was highly amused.

"Ohhh I could also spell your nails longer too! Give you the whole nine yards. I mean, look at these cuticles, they are atrocious Musa, didn't your mom ever teach you proper nail etiquette."

The room froze, and Musa could've sworn the actual temperature of the air dropped at least ten degrees. Musa tried to calm herself, tried to remind herself that Stella didn't know about her mom being dead. She had only ever told Tecna and Flora one night when they had all stayed up super late and got on the topic of family. It had been hard for her to talk about, but it had been something she had wished to discuss with someone, and that had been the perfect opportunity, with people she trusted.

She wanted to open up to these girls, to form actual real world connections. And she knew the only way to do that was to talk about her deeper secrets and fears.

"My mom died when I was five, Stella. So no, she never taught me 'proper nail etiquette'."

Stella didn't even falter, "Well someone should have then! Because these nails need some serious TLC."

Leave it to Stella to pick the worst moment to forget the meaning of empathy. Musa shot up in a fit of rage, clearly holding herself back from snapping at the blonde. Her mom was a touchy subject, and she knew that whatever response Stella would've thrown her way would have set her off regardless.

She had been working on her anger management, and knew that threatening Stella would only make things worse for their growing friendship. They had been doing so well recently, too. No bickering, no backhanded comments thrown at one another. Both of them just the other day had bonded over the fact that a mutually loved band was coming to Magix soon to play a concert, and they both agreed to go together. Musa had been thrilled, and she wasn't going to ruin their slow growing progress over something like this.

She quickly shifted into her Winx form, and flew out of the open double doors of the balcony.

She heard Flora yell a frantic, 'Musa wait!" But she didn't turn around. She had to let off a little steam before coming back to confront Stella.

Flying always made her feel better, it was addictingly therapeutic. The wind through her hair and the ache in her wings made her forget the problems of whatever was going on that day, and she craved that feeling right now to sooth her heartache. Tears condensed on the brim of her eyes, but the wind was hitting her face so fast they dried before they could spill onto her skin.

Musa had been the second fastest fairy on Alfea's records, apparently. Only surpassed by the fairy of wind, Bella, for obvious reasons. She had been elated to receive such praise from her teachers and peers when they had tested the girls velocity the first week in Fairy Powers 101. Palladium had been whirled around like a cyclone when she had whizzed past him, apparently his little machine which calculated miles per hour had read over 200. Fairies typically only reached speeds between the sixty to ninety range, and anything else was a complete anomaly.

And that wasn't even her fastest speed, as she could accelerate herself quick enough with just a flick of her magick to break the sound barrier. It was ill advised though, as it did great damage to her body and wings just from the sheer force of gravity pulling at her while she flew.

Her speed was one of her best assets in terms of battle, and it made her an integral part of the winx team. She felt useful because of that, and there was a small, dark part in the back of her mind that whispered she wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for her powers. Validation was a tricky bastard. It gave you an addicting high that made you feel like you were floating, but a lack of it could bring you down from the clouds and make you feel insignificant. And the last thing Musa wanted was to be was dead weight that needed to be carried by her other teammates.

She was flying towards her favorite cliff that was near Red Fountain. She had found it one night similarly when the girls had been getting on her nerves and she had needed to calm herself down. It faced west, so it was the perfect spot to watch the sun set and the day turn into night. And she was confident enough that no one would be around, as the cliff was in a decently remote area of the magic forest.

She set herself down lightly onto the cold earth, and pulled her legs up into her chest, wrapping her arms around herself in a protective display. She wanted to shield herself from the worlds cruelties for a little, and just have a good cry.

The feeling of otherness had been slowly fading as her days at Alfea turned to months. She was becoming stronger with every day of practice, and it was exhilarating, but she still had those dark thoughts of being not enough. She was loud and coercive and a little savage, which were all traits people didn't really desire in a fairy. More than once Griselda had to reprimand her for cussing out a fellow student, or eating with her mouth open, or saying a crude joke at an inappropriate time. She didn't have a filter, and it worried her that she was going to freak people out and push them away with her sometimes less than manageable attitude.

Musa grabbed her headphones from around her neck and placed them onto her ears. She needed some music to smother her insecurities. The sun had slowly made its way behind the trees of the forest, and was now shining through the leaves, dusting everything in a soft golden light. An earth song Bloom had shown her was blasting through her speakers, and she hummed along with it. If there was one things the people from earth could do right, it was create good music.

* * *

Riven had decided to go for a spontaneous night drive. There hadn't been a particular reason as to why, he had just been a little too restless in his room for his own liking. He hated just laying in his dorm bed with nothing to do, it made him feel like he was wasting away. And besides, it had been a while since he had taken his levabike out just to go for a casual ride.

The school allowed the boys to drive their levabikes whenever they pleased. They all had to buy one with their own money, so it didn't seem fair for the school to regulate when they could and couldn't take them out. Riven would've been pissed it they had, sometimes the only thing between him and putting his fist through a wall was a long bike ride away from all the testosterone that hung in the air at Red Fountain.

The only regulation Riven had to abide by was the curfew the school implemented on the students, which was midnight, and he wasn't planning to stay out past that. He just needed a quick ride to wake himself up, get the blood pumping. Maybe he'd go work out when he got back.

It was brisk outside, and Riven had decided to take a different path than normal. He was getting a little tired of his old route, and knew there were hundreds of others created by former students that lead to some interesting places in the magical forest.

As he veered his bike left into a winding path that road along one of the many cliffs in the woods, he realized this might've not been the best choice of action. The path was small, and incredibly bumpy. Not an ideal condition when trying to take a soothing leva ride.

He was about to turn around when he heard what sounded like singing. It was faint, and he couldn't quite make out any of the words of the song, but it was definitely a female voice. Riven contemplated still just turning back around. It wasn't like anyone was screaming in pain and he needed to shift into hero mode. And the last thing he wanted to have was some awkward encounter with a stranger. He wasn't in the mood to deal with people tonight, (he could just hear Brandon correcting him and saying, "You're never in the mood to deal with people, Riven").

His body was still driving his bike towards the voice however, and he couldn't really stop himself. It might've been for the fact that his curiosity was more powerful than his rationality. Or perhaps it was because the singing voice, now more distinct because Riven was slowly getting closer, was, for lack of a better term, alluring.

The voice sounded like chimes being blown in the wind, creating a beautiful symphony of sound. There was a rasp behind it though, and it make for a very unique combination of hard and soft.

It took Riven several more minutes of riding his bike down the path to find the girl, but as he came up upon the source of the singing, he wanted to laugh at the predictability. He should've known, honestly, fate had a way of being cruel to him. He could spot those stupid pigtails and oval shaped wings anywhere.

After the Ogre incident, he had seen her two more times. Once, just in passing when he and the other boys had been summoned by Faragonda to get their side of the fight for Alfea's records. She had passed him in the hall with Bloom at her side, probably going to some class, and met his eyes for a brief moment with slight shock. Riven deduced she probably had not expected to see him walking the halls of her school so nonchalantly.

After the initial confusion, she proceed to shoot up a peace sign at him as Bloom gave a polite wave at the rest of the boys, clearly more excited to see Sky than anything else. He had felt his heart seize a little when he saw her, and wanted to set himself on fire for his body's betrayal.

He had avoided her greeting, of course, not wanting to give her any reason to stop and talk to him. And as he passed her, he got a breath of what smelled like lavender, and wanted to throw himself into oncoming traffic. The last thing he needed was for his hormones to get in the way of his focus. School and training were the two most important things to him right now, not forming some lame crush on an Alfea pixie.

When she noticed him ignoring her, she scoffed and turned the peace sign into a middle finger, clearly finding his attitude less than acceptable. Yeah, no, he _really_ didn't need to form a crush right now, especially on this specific girl. She was like a violent bomb wrapped in a pretty package of nice legs and a charming button nose.

The second time was in black mud swamp, when him and the other specialists had lost that Troll. It had been embarrassing, that's for sure. The boys had ended up being punished with house arrest for a week, and Riven had almost gone insane being kept in Red Fountain for that long. He had also found it very ironic that the winx girls would be having their outdoor field training at the exact time they were searching for the runaway beast.

They had been somewhat of a help with that, he'd admit that now. But that didn't mean he was gonna thank them for doing the bare minimum. Bloom and Flora apparently spoke plant fluently, and were able to deduce that some witches had magicked the troll out of the swamp. Musa had mostly kept company with Timmy and Tecna, talking their ears off and cracking joke after joke.

He noticed that she ignored him for most of the mission, only sending him slight glances every now and again. He hadn't been shocked when she didn't acknowledge him, but it had hurt his ego a bit. And Brandon had been right about her being funny, as he had to catch himself multiple times from laughing out loud at at the jokes he overheard her say to Tecna and Timmy.

Now here she was, hunched into herself singing some sad song he had never heard before, alone in the woods. Riven barely knew how to handle a girls emotions when they were relatively stable, so he felt especially out of place when faced with a sad fairy. He knew he still had time to turn around, since she hadn't noticed him, probably from the fact that her headphones were on full blast.

He scoffed inwardly, that wasn't the best way to keep yourself safe when your back was facing the entire forest of Magix. An enemy could've snuck up on her with no problem.

Riven hopped from one foot to the other, shifting the weight of his bike, contemplating his next move.

He finally decided to at least just check on her, to see if she was hurt physically. He was a hero after all, and this was just him practicing what was preached at him daily. He placed his levabike onto a nearby tree, and walked up to the singing girl, being very cautious to not startle her. If it had been any other fairy he'd have been less vigilant, but he knew she could pack a serious punch. And he'd rather keep his head connected to the rest of his body if given the choice.

He decided that slowly lifting her headphones off her head would be the best approach. And he deliberately ignored how soft her hair felt, or the fact that he could smell that light lavender scent once again wafting in the air, making him a little dizzy.

Focus was key for a specialist after all.

* * *

Musa almost jumped out of her own skin when she felt the pull of her headphones. The sensation of them sliding off her head accompanied by her music growing more and more faint was a clear indication someone had come to mess with her peace, disturbing her quiet jam session. Fear rushed through her along with anger, and her adrenaline started to pump.

She moved quickly, bringing a fist up and filling it with magick. Whoever decided to mess with her was going to seriously regret it. As she moved to face her attacker, ready to throw her punch, she quickly noticed it wasn't a stranger at all, and lowered her arm.

"Riven? Dude what the hell, I almost broke your nose."

She heard him give a light snort, and deflated. She observed that he wasn't in his usual specialist uniform, and was instead in civilian style clothing. A pair of maroon colored jeans and a white top that had a slight crop too it, the sleeves rolled to reveal his toned arms.

She really hadn't pegged him for the crop top type, but he looked good. Like an actual teenager instead of a soldier in training.

She put out a hand, making a grabby motion at his general direction, "Can I have my headphones back, please? I was in the middle of something." She didn't know why he was out here, or why he had come to disturb her sulk session, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with his shitty attitude.

He threw the headphones at her lightly, and she caught them with ease, placing them back around her neck in a swift motion. He leaned against a nearby tree, looking her up and down once before asking, "So what are you doing our hear? Doesn't Alfea have a super strict curfew for you pixies?"

Musas blood started to boil. She didn't know why this particular specialist got her going so quickly, but he made her want to skin him alive. She was already overly sensitive because of Stella, so of course the universe had to put Riven and her in the exact same deserted forest while she was on the verge of a breakdown.

"It's only four past seven, and our curfew is ten o'clock, so I think I'm good."

Musa watched as he looked her up and down once more, and quirked an eyebrow at him, "Dude, stop checking me out, do I have like bugs crawling all over me or something? Seriously, what's your damage?"

A blush lightly danced across his high cheekbones, and his face twisted to look like he'd just sucked on a sour lemon, "You wish I was checking you out, Pixie. I was just making sure you didn't have any external wounds. It's my job to make sure people stay safe you know."

She gave him a harsh laugh, and turned to sit back on the cliff, "Yeah, I'm fine Riven. You can go back to patrolling the forest or whatever now, I'm going to go back to my music."

As Musa started to sit back down, she felt a sharp pain pulse through her left side. She grunted, and both her hands shot to the spot of the ache. She quickly shifted so she'd land on her knees rather than her butt, wanting to shift the force from her torso to her legs.

She heard Riven push himself off the tree he was using as a resting spot, and could feel him walking closer to her. She put out a hand to stop him, to stubborn to take any help, "It's fine, I'm fine, it's just residual pain from that Ogre fight. I'm not completely healed yet is all."

Lowering herself slowly into a more comfortable seating position, she sent a wave of healing magick through her side. She wasn't that gifted with healing spells, but she knew a few pain managing ones for these exact moments. She was aware that she was reckless with her own body, so having a few up her sleeve was beneficial when she got herself injured.

Riven crouched down next to her, "Are you sure? I thought fairies were suppose to heal faster than the average person."

She nodded, "Yeah, but I'd done some pretty nasty damage to myself I guess. The nurse said I punctured a lung on top of shattering almost my entire left hand and breaking six ribs," Musa let our a small self deprecated laugh, clearly amused with herself for being so reckless, "She put my back together fine, but told me I'd be feeling some phantom pains for up to a month. It's normal I guess. Hurts like a bitch though."

Riven was now seated to her right, clearly not wanting to stay in a crouching position forever while talking to her, "Like I said back in the forest, if you would have not been gossiping with the other Pixies while you were mid-fight, you might've avoided half those injuries."

Musa wanted to slam her head into a tree. She had never met a boy more infuriating than this one, and she had only interacted with him a total of three times. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and swiveled her head so they were face to face, "Dude okay, I get it. I fucked up. I know I can get distracted easily and I had been on a little bit of a high from that punch."

She took another breath, reminding herself violence was not always the answer, "Trust me, Griselda has grilled me over and over for how distracted I can get in battle. But i'm trying to learn to be better, so cut me some slack. I know it might not be me next time, and I think everyday about the fact that a mistake I make could potentially kill someone."

A tear fell onto her cheek, and she wanted to scream. She was not going to cry in front of this jerk, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let something he brought up make her cry either. She quickly swiped at her face with her hand, discarding the tear and puffing her chest out. Trying to make herself look tougher than her five foot frame usually let on, "Ignore that, those are just formality tears. My eyes sometimes have to make sure the tear ducts still work, its scheduled body maintenance, you know how it goes."

Musa didn't know if it was the ridiculous act of trying to look tough in front of him, or her stupid comment, but Riven broke out into a smile, and actually let our what sounded like a real human laugh.

That was what did it for Musa, and she hated herself for falling so fast. She had always thought he was cute from the beginning, but had been seriously turned off by his sour personality and cocky demeanor. But that smile made her want to burst into flames, and to be the one who made it appear on his face was just the icing on top of the magenta colored cake.

"You know, you never answered my question as to why you were out here."

"Oh uh," she couldn't help but notice how close he was, and also that his smile was still lingering. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire, "me and Stella kinda got into it, is all. Nothing dramatic, just roommate stuff."

He hummed, "Not surprised, that girl is...a lot." She could tell he was choosing his words wisely, tiptoeing around what he really wanted to say.

"You can just call her a bitch dude, its fine. I'm not gonna go all 'thats my friend' on you, it's chill."

"Yeah, no, she can be a total bitch sometimes."

Musa gave a light laugh, and curled back into herself a bit, ignoring the still present dull pain pulsing through her side. She felt like she wanted to cry all over again, but did not have the energy. She was just so tired. Tired of the fighting, both the actual physical battles and also the verbal ones with her friends. And she was also tired of feeling like the odd one out all the time too.

She sighed, and threw her hands in the air, "I just don't get it! I try to be her friend and we can get along so well for days, and then she says one thing to me and I want to burn all of her bras and dump out all of her expensive makeup in the toilet while she's not looking. And then I feel guilty for wanting to do those awful things, and then I feel like a shitty friend, it sucks."

Riven stayed quiet for a while, and she honestly hadn't expected an actual response from him. She had pieced together from their few interactions that he wasn't the best when it came to dealing with human emotions, both his own and certainly not with other peoples.

"I mean yeah, I feel the same way sometimes. Timmy sends me over the edge with just his stupid tinkering noises. You'd think he could work on his shit at a more decent hour. And don't even get me started on Brandon. He tries to get me to open up and I just want to ring his neck."

"Oh god please don't do that. If you do I'll have both a pissed and sad Stella on my hands, and I'd rather eat my own foot before dealing with that."

They both laughed, and Musa admitted that she felt a little better than before. She had never expected Riven of all people to make her mood brighten, but the worlds magick worked in strange ways.

They stayed seated on the cliff a little longer, soaked in a comfortable silence, but then Riven slowly sat up from his spot, stretching as he did so. He offered her a hand up, and she took it, teasing him about how gentlemanly that gesture was. It had made him swiftly remove his had from hers, and that made her laugh even harder.

"Oh also, why did you stay in your winx form this whole time? doesn't that take a lot of power to keep up?"

Now that they were standing Musa had to strain her neck to even look at his face. She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively, "Well, me and the girls had decided on a sleepover to cool down from finals, so the only thing i've got on under this right now is a tiny little top and my underwear. So unless you want to see me freeze to death while almost naked I gotta keep this getup going."

The slight self induced embarrassment had been worth it to see Riven blush and roll his eyes like he was incredibly annoyed rather than flustered.

"Well, I better get going back to school. Nice to actually have a civil interaction with you Riven, we should try this more often."

And with that, Musa ascended, wings fluttering rapidly. A huge smile broke onto her face when she heard Riven respond with a passive, "Yeah, whatever," and she started her fly back to Alfea, giddy and feeling a million times lighter than she had just a few hours ago.

* * *

**Also I am so sorry for using Stella as a scapegoat lol. She's actually one of my favorite characters, but in the first season her and Musa butted heads a lot so she seemed like the perfect person to create believable conflict. I plan to flesh her out a lot more along with the rest of the girls, promise. **

**Until next time! **


	3. Dragons and Biting (Not in the Fun Way)

**Thanks again for all of the lovely comments once again! Firstly I want to address Stella and say that I really am planning to flesh her out (along w the other characters), I know I made her a little harsh last chapter when dealing w/ Musa, but she did say some pretty wild stuff first season, and not everyone is agreeable w/ everyone. **

**Second of all I plan to move around some plot points in the show, and also I wont be having any of the Brandon is Sky and Sky is Brandon stuff directly in this fic, only referenced. Like, in this fic they've moved past that, and the girls have already dealt with it in the beginning of the school year. **

**Again Unbeta'd, and thanks for reading!**

* * *

The next few days came and went like a whirlwind.

When Musa had gotten back to the dorm around half past eight feeling both emotionally lighter and in a better headspace mentally, she had decided to go to Stella's room to hash out whatever had gone down between the two earlier that night.

Stella had opened the door, looking tired and a little shocked to see Musa standing in her doorway still in her winx from.

"Can we talk?"

Two hours and a lot of tears later, the girls had come to an understanding. Stella had expressed to Musa that she was just as new to this friend thing as Musa was, and that she had a bad habit of using humor to deflect when she felt she had offended someone, and could be insensitive without realizing. She had also communicated to Musa that she felt isolated by the music fairy sometimes, and that Musa had deemed her too difficult to be friends with before giving her an actual chance to prove herself.

Musa had felt a pang of animosity serge threw her, but understood that she was a part of the problem, not just Stella. The two girls might've have been from different backgrounds, but their want to be accepted was the same.

After that, things settled a bit. Finals were still going on, and Musa had been in a better mood. Finally feeling like she was making some true progress with both her friends and with herself.

That was, until witches decided to declare social warfare on the fairies.

When Stella had been kidnapped and her ring stolen, Musa could've probably leveled a whole city with the amount of rage induced magick that had flown through her when they found the blonde floating and unconscious in that fake cafe, slowly being crushed.

At times, Musa thought that it was unfair Bloom had been named the unofficial leader of the Winx Club. A selfish part of her wondered why she hadn't been chosen to lead. What made Bloom so special? The girl had only found out she was a fairy barley three months ago.

But it was seeing Bloom make the tough decisions, like giving Stella's ring to Icy and keeping a cool head the entire time that made Musa realize Bloom had great potential. It had also shown her that if she had been in charge, she would have just resorted to unabashed violence, like she always did. There was a time and a place to break a few bones, but needing to reason with the enemy to give you the unconscious body of your friend back was not one of them.

And then there was the whole ordeal with the break-in at Cloud Tower. They really hadn't meant to get caught, just a simple find and retrieve mission. Stella needed that ring back or she would've for sure failed the rest of her finals, and no one wanted to see Stella have to repeat freshman year a _third_ time.

Musa had to hold herself back from throwing out every cuss word she knew when Griselda had punished them to cleaning duty and told them they wouldn't be allowed to go to that Charmed Life concert with the rest of the students. She had been so pumped to see them, but instead had been stuck dusting the entire school, powerless and sweaty.

The boys had been a nice distraction however, and Musa had been a little more than excited to see Riven again. The girls had waited outside the school for the specialists to ride up after Stella had called and lied, explaining that they needed hero's 'assistance'. They all knew that was bullshit. And the fact that the guys had all deliberately made the choice to skip the concert to hang out with them, including Riven, gave Musa hope that he was coming to see her because he wanted to actually be around her.

They had arrived pretty quickly, and when Musa had spotted the magenta boy getting off his Levabike, she shot him another peace sign in reverence to the first time in the Alfea hallway. She was hopeful that since they'd had that small civil interaction in the woods he'd be a little less vicious with her then before.

And she couldn't help a small smile form forming when he nodded in her direction, acknowledging her. Even if it had been a small gesture, Musa had counted that as major progress. Riven might've been emotionally constipated, but in return she was stubborn as all hell. She wasn't going to give up on getting to know him that easily.

The night had gotten on pretty terribly, and Musa hadn't been shocked to find out that the witches had been so bold as to come straight to the school and try to start shit. Of course they would decide to attack while the girls were magickless and everyone else was gone. Those three girls were ruthless in their hunt for power.

If it hadn't been for the boys Musa couldn't imagine what might have happened. Even if it was hard to admit, they had been a great asset, but Riven's many comments of the girls not being able to help them fight had ticked her right off. Just because she didn't have her powers didn't mean she couldn't kick some ass.

And as the specialists rode off (Riven's attitude had only gotten worse as the night went on, pissing Musa off even more when he had decided to turn around and tell her and Flora they had thrown a shitty party), the witches were magicked away by Faragonda. Musa couldn't help but feel like the air had shifted to something sinister. Whatever was going on, those witches were plotting something that was bigger than just being power hungry and annoying.

Things had calmed down for the most part after that. So when Musa had been called into Faragondas office unprompted she was worried that she had broken a rule without even realizing it. She had been keeping her attitude in check these last few days, not wanting to get in any more trouble.

Faragonda's office was bright. Light cascaded through all of the large windows that ran along the walls, and the head of Alfea was seated at her desk, looking as poised as ever.

"Musa, dear, come in! I want to introduce you to someone."

Faragonda gestured to the small man standing next to her and smiled, "This is professor Saladin, head of Red Fountain, and he's here because he has a special task for you."

Musa knew of Saladin, but had never formally met the man. The first thing she noticed was that he was tiny, tinier than her from what she could tell. Which was both shocking and also a bit humorous. The head of the school for Meat Heads in Training was run by a man under five feet, and that made Musa snicker to herself. He looked like a nice enough man though.

Saladin made his way up to her, and took her hand in his own, patting it lightly, "Nice to meet you dear. Faragonda here tells me you are very gifted when it comes to music, and i've got a bit of a predicament over at Red Fountain that I think you might be able to help me with."

Musa raised a brow, "Whats up?"

Saladin chuckled at her informal response and continued, "We've got some new dragons over in the practice stables, and they seem to be causing even our most practiced wranglers a bit of trouble. We were hoping you'd be able to come and find a way to sooth them?"

Musa hummed, she had read about the soothing properties music could have on some types of dragons, and knew that it could calm them considerably, even lull them to sleep. Apparently they had a particular affinity for the flute.

"I mean sure? I've done some research about dragons and know a few lullabies I could try on them if you think that'd help."

Saladin clapped his hands together in approval, and beamed at her, "That's exactly what I was hoping for. Faragonda, can I please take her and the other two girls?"

Faragonda smiled and nodded, "Just bring them back before supper Saladin. Musa you're excused from you scheduled classes for the day." Musa mentally pumped a fist up in victory. Excited that she didn't have to go take that whack test in Magical History.

"And Saladin, keep my girls safe. I don't think any of them have ever dealt with a temperamental dragon before."

* * *

Apparently the other two girls Saladin had spoken of were her two roommates, and Musa had been ecstatic when she spotted her two friends waiting on the Alfea quad, chatting exuberantly to one another.

Musa couldn't help but run up behind them and tackle them into a half hug, "Sup guys! Heard you also were retrieved to go soothe some dragons?"

Flora smiled warmly and nodded, "I'm going to help check on their overall health, and get the new ones up to date with vaccines and such." The flower fairy was studying mainly healing magick at Alfea, so that made sense.

"And I'm coming to give them all a great tan! Apparently dragons love to sunbathe. Whatever it takes to calm those beasts I guess. The specialists are apparently desperate." Stella explained, as spunky as ever. She was also probably excited for an excuse to go to Red Fountain. Musa was sure she'd hunt down her boyfriend regardless of what he was doing at the moment.

Saladin slowly caught up to the three chattering girls, and lifted his staff, "Ready ladies?"

The girls nodded, and the headmaster spoke in some language Musa didn't understand, and their bodies slowly started to evaporate, Red Fountain their new destination.

When Saladen had said they were having problems keeping the new dragons at bay, he had not been kidding. Stella and her were seated in the glass viewing box that looked directly over the practice stadium, and watched as a bunch of specialists tried to rope down a large blue dragon that was thrashing violently. Flora had been quickly whisked away by someone Musa assumed was one of the veterinarians to take care of the already tamed dragons. Which left the two other fairies to devise a plan with some of the specialists on how to go about soothing the newlings.

There were three new dragons all together, and Musa could see that the other two were barley being kept in check by the Red Fountain students as well. She also took note that Riven was one of the specialists down in the pit, his bright colored hair giving him away. He was in front of some purple dragon, hands raised, body tense and cautious.

"So what's the plan boys?" Stella was already in her Winx form and ready to go. Brandon and Sky had just so happened to be two of the specialists assigned to help the girls figure out a way to sedate the dragons without completely freaking them out. Apparently dragons loved a good fairy to munch on, and would go ballistic if they even got a whiff of one of them. So they were pre-planning in hopes to cause as minimal damage to both the girls and dragons as possible.

Brandon sounded a little lost as he spoke, "Well, we need to get the two of you close enough so your magick can actually have an effect, but also we need to keep you from being eaten, so were in a bit of a pickle."

Stella scrunched her nose at the eating comment, "I know I can cast my sun spells from in here and have them work just fine, but I think Musa is gonna have to get pretty close for any of her magick to be really worth a damn."

All of the specialists looked at each other anxiously, clearly not happy with what Stella had just said. It was the truth though. There was no way Musa was going to be able to get the dragons to hear her flute from here, not even with a sound amplifying spell.

Musa cocked a hip, "I think I'm just gonna have to go for it Brandon. There's no way with their sense of smell that they won't get a whiff of me before I can use my magic. So you're just going to have to warn the boys down there to prepare for the dragons reaction, and I'll be as quick as possible."

Brandon nodded, realizing there was really no other solution and turned to the younger boys, presumably freshman, "You heard her, go warn the other guys."

Musa could tell Brandon was tense. Things could go south very quickly and non of the boys had wings to help if the dragons decided they wanted an afternoon snack.

Brandon smiled thinly at her, "I trust you with this Musa, but please be smart. When you hit the air I need you to be on your a-game. I don't want you or my teammates to end up injured because of this."

Musa nodded, and quickly transformed into her Winx. She magicked her favorite flute into her right hand and quickly ran over the songs she knew would sooth the dragon's aggression note by note, mentally preparing herself.

Before she stepped out into the arena she heard Brandon call her name.

"And Musa?"

"Yeah?"

"If there's one fairy I know who can outfly a dragon, its you. But don't let it come to that."

* * *

Riven was currently four inches away from a dragon, and having the time of his life. Cordatorta had told the boys that the new babies would be dropped off today, and that meant Riven was finally getting his own to dragon to wrangle and tame.

He had picked the purple Amphitere, who was the only female of the pack. He had chosen the name Ruby Rose for her, feeling it was fitting since when her scales hit sun they looked like rose petals shining in the light. Ruby was currently in the middle of flaring her nostrils at him as he softly cooed at her, and trying her best to escape the ropes that five specialists were holding her down with on either side of her wings.

A freshman, Luke, came out of one of the openings that led into the arena grounds and announced that some fairies were here to help with the taming of the new dragons, so to be cautious and keep the dragons contained.

Riven knew Saladin had gone to Alfea to get the help of pixies, and had mixed feelings about the whole thing. On one hand he could clearly see the other students were struggling to handle the new beasts, due to the fact that a lot of these freshman were really inexperienced when it came to dragon wrangling. And he also knew that certain types of magick could sooth a dragon right to sleep if done correctly, so it only made sense Saladin would recrute a few pixies to help with the job.

But he was also highly aware that when it came to food and dragons, fairies were high on their lists of favorite snacks to munch on if given the opportunity.

It was too late to object to the help however, as the feeling of the sun on his back suddenly get increasingly more prominent, indicated to him that the fairies were already here. They must've gotten some sun fairy (probably Stella) to come and turn up the heat for the new Hydras. They were notorious sunbathers, and loved to just roll around and bask. Riven could see through the blinding light that the two Hydras had instantly calmed, and were now just soaking up the daylight.

A few specialists were able to throw some cages over them, which meant step one for those two dragons were complete.

Ruby however was still trying to break free of her restrains, not really giving a shit about about the sudden temperature change.

Riven could instantly tell when the fairies had made contact with the open air, because Ruby has gone absolutely ballistic with carnal instinct. Her nostrils were wide open, and her eyes were frantically searching the air for the source of the fresh prey. She was pulling against her restraints with even more force than before now.

And as Riven heard the first note of a flute start to play, he also heard the snap of a rope directly come from his left, and felt his heart stop in his chest.

The next few seconds for him flowed like molasses. It only took one less rope holding her down for Ruby to get her wings open enough to throw the other specialists restraining her against the arena wall like a bunch of rag-dolls. Riven had been brought to the ground by the force of her wings beating, and he watched helplessly as she ascend into the sky, searching for her pray.

Riven surveyed the air frantically, and his eyes landed on an array of red leather and pigtails.

There was Musa, flute to lips, eyes closed, floating right in the middle of the stadium.

"Musa!" Riven roared, desperate to get her attention. Ruby Rose was heading right for her, teeth bared. Of course she would be the other fairy brought in to help. Music was one of the only things that could calm a dragon well enough to be able to get it to cooperate, and Musa was the best fit for the job.

Navy eyes snapped open at the call of her name, and he saw her blink once before realizing what was barreling towards her. She narrowly dodged Ruby biting her leg clean off, and Riven was just glad his dragon wasn't a breed that knew fire breathing, or she would've already been cooked and eaten midair.

Riven heard one of the seniors bark at the younger specialists to get all of the sedated and caged dragons out of the pit and evacuate.

"Riven! you need to move!" Sky was yelling at him from the seats that were right above his head that sat above the pit of the arena. He was right, Riven knew it was dangerous to stay in the battle grounds with a loose dragon, but he also knew that Musa needed help. She and Ruby were playing a game of chicken and beast, and the last thing Riven wanted to do was watch blood be shed on his watch.

Musa was bobbing and weaving like a pro. Ruby might've been big, but Musa had an advantage on her, and that was her petite size and speed. She was using the walls of the arena in her favor, and was moving herself like a bullet across the space. Evading Ruby as effortlessly as possible.

Riven tried his best to get to the attention of the music fairy, but she was going way to fast, "Musa! Stay in the arena! Don't fly out or she'll chase you until you run out of magick!"

Musa whizzed right past him, narrowly avoiding his shoulder. He made sure to duck out as Ruby flew over the both of them, neck outstretched and jaw wide open. If she flew out of the arena and into open sky, she could for sure kiss her wings goodbye. Musa might've been astonishingly fast, but Ruby was more persistent, and she would long run our of Winx before Ruby ran out of animalistic prey drive.

"I know! I'm highly fucking aware she's not going to stop until she eats me!"

The whole arena was in a stalemate. The other specialists and Riven couldn't do anything on the ground, and Musa was doing her best to doge Ruby and her attacks, but she would run out of magic eventually.

The game of hunt the fairy went on for a few more minutes, before Musa called his name, frantic, "Riven!"

She was currently dipping under Ruby's belly, trying to disorient the dragon.

"I need you to close all of the doors and the dome that goes over the arena!"

"What? Why?" He didn't know how trapping all three of them in here with Ruby as pissed as she was was going to fix this problem.

"Just do it! Trust me!"

He responded, frustrated, "Okay, just try not to hurt her!"

Riven could almost see her whole body eye roll, "Oh fuck off, just shut the damn doors!"

He ran over to where the indoor control panel was located and ignored her crude response. One had been installed in case of an emergency just like this one. If a specialist needed to quickly open or close a door they now had immediate access to the controls. He quickly pulled two levers, and all of the doors in the arena shut, as did the dome to the roof.

Musa quickly shifted herself, flying right up to the now closing dome roof. She had been able to fake out Ruby with enough grace to befuddle the dragon thoroughly. Ruby was now frantically looking around for Musa, and when she spotted her standing atop one of the roof beams, she charged with only carnage on her mind.

Riven feebly watched in horror as Ruby made a straightaway for the fairy, "What the hell are you doing Musa?!"

The dragon was a few inches from Musa when he sensed the whole stadium start to shake. He instantly felt his body become drowsy, and what sounded like a lullaby sung through his ears, immediately calming his mind and body. He could see Musa was glowing a light purple, and what looked to be sound waves were rolling off of her body and wings.

Ruby had been stopped mid air. She was now floating, gone limp from whatever spell Musa was currently casting on her. From his body's own reaction he had to assume it was some strong calming magick. Riven let out the breath he had been holding in since the rope had broke, and watched as she started to descend towards Ruby. He was shocked to see Musa get so close to the dragon, and was even more shocked when she put both her small hands on Ruby's muzzle, lightly connecting her forehead with the dragons.

She was whispering something to the dragon, but he couldn't hear whatever she was saying from the distance he was at. Ruby's eyes closed slowly, and she was now completely asleep mid air. Both of the girls started to float down to the ground, Musa clearly using her magic to keep Ruby from plummeting.

She had done it.

Some specialists made there way back into the arena, ready for Ruby to land so they could collect her and make sure she was okay and take her to a more secure location. The minute Ruby made contact with the gravel she curled into herself, her chest moving lightly with her small snores. It was the calmest Riven had seen her since she had been dropped off at Red Fountain, and it soothed him immensely to know she was safe.

A small part of him was also grateful that Musa was okay, too. She had flown a few feet from Ruby, and was seated criss cross on the ground and breathing heavily, collecting both herself and her magick.

Riven didn't want to admit to himself, but she had impressed him. He knew she could get a good hit in if lucky, but had no idea that she could think on her toes so fast in such a high risk situation. He could feel his admiration for her grow.

Ruby was being caged by two junior specialists as he made his way across the arena towards Musa. He made a mental note to go check up on her later, because right now he had another issue to attend to. Even if Musa wasn't physically hurt, he could tell that she had been exhausted from the amount of magick she had used and probably needed some help.

He approached her, and put a hand out for her to take, "You did good, Pixie. Not many fairies can say they fought a dragon and lived."

She tilted her head up at him from her spot on the ground, and looked both perturbed and smug, "Oh, nice to see you too mister, 'Don't hurt my dragon even though she's trying to eat you' what a lovely day were having, don't you think?"

She was angry with him, clearly. He sighed, "Come on Musa, I didn't mean it like that. Knowing you I was just worried you'd try and kill her without even thinking."

Pushing herself up and ignoring his helping hand, Musa crossed her arms and gave him a look that read, 'dude come on', and powered down. He tried his best to keep himself from staring at her. She was wearing a pair of baggy jeans that hung low on her hips and her underwear was clearly visible. And he for sure didn't think that was kinda hot.

"Your just lucky I didn't level this whole building. Because believe me I thought about it, but I'd feel bad if I ended up killing your pet."

Sarcasm aside, Riven could hear the sincerity in her voice. He didn't know what had gotten into him lately, but he could feel himself being drawn to this girl more and more as they interacted, and he tried to fight it the best he could. He hated himself for it, but he even thought her snappy remarks were a little cute, which was pathetic. Because when anyone else interacted with him, even with just a simple greeting, he wanted to tell them to fuck off.

"Well thanks, for calming her I mean. You really did kick ass."

Musa audibly gasped and put a hand over her heart, faking surprise, "A compliment? From the great Riven himself? I'm shocked. I thought you were only able to give battle advise and scold me on my fighting tactics."

Riven rolled his eyes, "Ha ha, very funny. Just learn to take a compliment pixie, I don't give them out very often."

She smirked and snarked a quick, "Clearly, asshole" and then started to move, "I'm going to go find Stella, she's probably with Brandon somewhere. Your more than welcome to come if you want."

It only took two steps before she was stumbling forward towards Riven, eyes rolling back into her head. He caught her with ease, wrapping an arm securely around her waist.

She came back to a second later, and steadied herself on him. Shakily she placed both her hands on his lower biceps in an attempt to hold some of her own weight, and used his chest as a resting place for her head. She was clearly having a hard time staying conscious. Riven noted she was breathing heavy once again and felt a pang of worry go through him.

"Musa?"

It took her a little bit to collect herself and respond, "I think I might have...overdone it a bit."

He snorted lightly, "You think?"

She rubbed her head into his chest, clearly a bit embarrassed. "I _think_ I can't feel my legs."

They stayed like that for several moments, him just holding her up while she caught her breath. Riven really couldn't help but notice that everything about her was so small. He knew she was the shortest out of all the Winx girls, and probably one of the shortest fairies in Alfea too. Fairies were notorious for being above average in height, so she was an oddity.

He could tell however that she took every chance to make herself feel larger, and with her fiery personality and loud mouth she clearly wanted to come off as someone that stood tall. Not to mention she could fight like someone three times her size, which made it a little funny that she was so tiny in comparison to both her peers and adversaries.

"Well, what now?"

Riven heard mumbling come from below him, and could barely make out what the dark haired girl was saying against his chest,

"...Canyoujustcarrymepleaseidonthinkicanwalk."

He chuckled, amused and slightly confused, "You're going to have to repeat that for me pixie."

The grip on his arms became tighter as she tensed. Clearly whatever she was trying to say was taking her some effort to get out, "Can you just fucking carry me? I used too much of my magick with that final spell. My legs feel like jelly when I try to walk."

Riven knew that if a fairy used too much of her power in a short amount of time their bodies could start shutting down. It was a limitation that fairies had to be aware of in times of battle, but it seemed like Musa would push herself no matter if her body was screaming at her to slow down.

He hoisted her up in one swift movement, and hauled her over his right shoulder like a sack of flour. He heard a squeak come from behind him, and held back a smirk.

"Dude seriously, a fireman carry?"

He tightened his grip on her as he made his way towards the arena doors to go find where Stella was, making sure to avoid putting his hand anywhere that would get him a black eye.

"What? Did you expect me to sweep you off your feet or something? This is the easiest way to get someone from point A to B when in a hurry." Riven felt a fist hit the small of his back, and decided to pinched Musa on the upper leg as a form of playful retaliation.

"Ow fucker! Didn't this stupid hero school teach you to be nice to the people you are hero-ing?"

Riven pinched her again, and he was utterly shocked when he felt the pain of her biting him in the left shoulder. She had somehow maneuvered her head far enough to reach his other side and currently had her teeth sunk into his deltoid. _This fucking girl._

He kept a hold of her, but jerked a little so she'd release her teeth from his flesh, "Did you just fucking _bite_ me pixie?"

"Yeah," she wiggled a little bit in annoyance, "Just be happy I took a bite from your shoulder and not an asscheek. I've been making eye contact with these babies since i've been down here, so they're an easy target."

The only thing that stopped Riven from throwing her onto the ground and leaving her to fend for herself was Stella flying towards them in a haste of orange and blonde. Brandon and Sky were both following behind the fairy, and so were a few other Red Fountain Students.

"Musa!" The blonde screamed as she came to a halt in front of Riven, "Is she okay? Oh my god that was so terrifying, but also amazing!"

A small, "Thanks Stell" came from behind him, and he tried his best to keep himself calm around Stella and her large personality.

"She's fine. She just used too much magick and now her legs are useless. We were on our way to find you." He tried his best to sound level, and not like someone who had just been bitten by the screwball of a fairy he was gripping.

Stella smiled, and made a motion like she wanted him to transfer Musa over to her outstretched arms. He gave her a quizzical look and she gave one right back, "I can take her Riven. I told Saladin I would just transport us back once the job was done."

she made the grab motion again, and looked at him sincerely, "And since everyone is in one piece we have to get back to Alfea for dinner. Besides, my Musa here for sure needs an infirmary visit, and a hot bath with expensive soaps. A fairy needs her papering after almost being dragon food."

Riven just shrugged and didn't hear any protests from Musa, so he slugged her off and placed her body into Stellas arms. The blonde didn't even flinch at the additional human weight in her grip, and just beamed at Riven.

"Thanks Riv!" He ignored the stupid new nickname and watched as she gave a quick kiss to Brandons cheek. The Brunette smiled and returned the gesture.

Riven could barely keep his cool when he witnessed Stella throw Musa over her shoulder just like he had done a few minutes prior, and simultaneously throw her ring in the air and catch her staff in one swift motion. Musa yelled our every cuss word in the book at the other girl, but Stella ignored her enraged friend in favor of opening up a transport portal.

She patted Musa's butt playfully, and Riven swore he almost pissed himself laughing at the Blondes antics, "Well boys, nice to see you! Please send Flora back to the school once she's done helping the vet. Ta ta!"

Riven could admit that Stella was entertaining sometimes.

And as Stella turned to walk into the portal, Musa perked her head up and met his eyes. He saw her glare at him, but could tell there was no actual heat behind the gaze. She mouthed an, 'I hate you' in his direction and he couldn't help but let a small smirk form on his lips. He threw it back to her, and he watched as she evaporated back to Alfea, middle finger held high and a tongue stuck out at him as a final goodbye.

A hand clapped him on his shoulder, thankfully not the bitten one, and he turned to see Brandon to his right, eyebrows raised suggestively, "So, Musa huh?"

He shrugged the specialist off and started to walk towards the stables, knowing exactly what Brandon was insinuating. He needed to go check up on Ruby anyway.

"Go eat shit Brandon."

"Oh come on! You know you like her!"

Riven just threw up a finger behind himself as he walked away, mirroring a now classic Musa move. He had come to terms with the fact that he was starting to enjoy the bold fairy and all the playful banter they got into, but that wasn't any of Brandon's business.

Riven ignored whatever else Brandon was yelling at him, and just focused on getting to his dragon. He'd deal with his feelings later.

* * *

**Uhhh also I have no idea if Riven's dragon was actually named Ruby Rose in the show or i just read it in a fanfic and it seeped into my brain without me knowing. So if it is from a fanfic and yall know pls tell me! **

**Until next time! **


	4. Lets Get Drunk and Sad, Baby!

**Hi y'all! Sorry for not updating sooner, but I started two internships like three weeks ago and also a side job so I've been incredibly busy. Those first few weeks of summer were my time off, so I had way more time to write then I do now, sadly. I'll be trying to update once or twice a month, since I think thats all I can really manage. Thanks again for all of the support! **

**Now this is a bit of a jump. Musa and Riven didn't really have a lot of interaction in the first season, so I'm trying my best to flesh them out while also staying true to the story. Once Darcy kinda sunk her teeth into Riven, he was very much removed from Musa for the rest of the season lol. So more of the meat and potatoes of their relationship will be happening once I get to the season two timeline. **

**This chapter specifically doesn't have Riven in it, and is more-so dealing with Musa coming to terms about the fact that Riven has 'decided' to become involved with Darcy. Next chapter will have more heavy Musa/Riven content. **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

When Musa heard the news that Riven had gotten involved with Darcy, she'd decided to get wildly, recklessly, piss drunk.

Fighting those witches in downtown Magix, and seeing the two of them in that cafe all over each other had been her tipping point. The Day of the Rose had only been a week ago, and grieving her mom had left her wounded and open, and now she just wanted to be numb.

She hadn't been able to stop herself from walking by that stupid hang out spot the witches loved so much. Self deprecation was a skill, not just a hobby, and seeing the way Riven and Darcy looked at one another had made her physically ill. Darcy couldn't keep her hands off of him, and Riven had looked at her like he wanted to jump over that table and just undress her right in that chair, the public be damned. She felt microscopic standing on that sidewalk, voyeuristic and raw.

It only took seconds for the comparisons to start. That senior witch was the farthest thing from Musa in every aspect.

The woman was hauntingly gorgeous, to start. Long, toned legs and a pair of eyes that made you feel like you were being sized up and also eaten alive when she bore them into you. Personality wise, she was incredibly reserved, and silently deadly, the complete opposite of her two sisters. Darcy was a puzzle that was too intriguing not to want to solve. Unlike Musa who was essentially an open book of anger and feelings.

She got it, she really did. Riven found her enticing, at least physically. Every guy had some sort of wicked wet dream about a girl like Darcy. What she couldn't understand, however, was how he could go for a witch that had been trying to essentially murder all of his friends for the last six months.

There was also an incredibly weak part of her that sat in the depths of her chest that had also really thought Riven might've actually been into her. Or at least, they were getting to a point that she could ask him out with confidence and he would've most likely said yes, or so she hoped.

Clearly not. She couldn't compete with Darcy.

Musa was made up of thin limbs and wounds. Scars littered her body from battle, from being so reckless and so _her_. Darcy had curves in every place that mattered, and smooth, blemish free skin. Her long hair was silky, while even though Musa liked her pigtails, she knew they were in no way provocative to any gender.

The last thing she was going to do was change herself for Riven, but she also felt like her self esteem had just been ripped to shreds and stomped on. The part of her that hated herself felt like if she had just been more seductive and less _Musa_, she would be the one sitting across from Riven sharing a drink with him.

What had hurt the most though, and still haunted her thoughts was bumping into him on the sidewalk while running from the witches, and him telling her outright she never had a chance. She had pleaded for his help, and he'd looked so cruel then. Even if he was a little ill-tempered in most scenarios she'd never seen him like _that_. So distant.

Musa had felt like an idiot, and still did. So she'd decided drinking herself until she was detached would be a good use of her time. Sobbing into her pillow would at least sooth her aching heart for one night.

Stella and Bloom had provided the booze, and all the Winx girls had collectively provided a shoulder to cry on. They were all determined to cheer her up, and she needed her girls right now. She was immensely grateful that they were willing to deal with her in such a compromising state. Snotty and yelling about how much she hated men.

"Girl preach! Why men have any say in what goes on in the world is beyond me." Stella was definitely feeling feisty tonight. She was seated criss cross on the foot of Musa's bed. Dressed in her most extravagant pajamas and sipping on a hard lemonade that Bloom had smuggled into the dorm from earth.

The whole Winx crew was crowded into her and Tecna's room, drinking and eating take out from some janky Chinese place that was close to campus. They'd all decided to have a shit talk session and get drunk with her. Bloom exclaiming that getting sloshed alone wasn't as fun as doing it with your friends, and that bitching was part of the healing process. Musa couldn't fight that logic.

"I just don't get it! Why her? She's tried to kill us _and_ him, on like, several different occasions! If witches are his thing he's got other girls to choose from." The tequila was making her agitated, but she was too tipsy to give a shit.

Flora was snuggled in with Bloom on the floor, and had a small glass of wine in her hand, "I don't know hun, boys don't always think with their brains, we all know that."

Tecna nodded and placed her bottle of beer onto Musa's nightstand, "Maybe he's a masochist. He seems like the type to be into some weird stuff."

Flora made a sound akin to a cat hurling, and Bloom patted her on the back in an attempt to help the blushing girl. Stella turned from the foot of the bed and crawled in between her and Tecna, squishing the three of them together. They were using the headboard as a backrest, blankets covering their legs.

"Oh I'd believe it. Honestly Musa you're too good for him! Brandon always talks about how emotionally distant he is, and you don't need a man like that."

"Or woman." Tecna corrected the blonde. Musa had come out as bi to the Winx pretty early on in getting to know them, wanting to be upfront on her sexuality. Tecna had secretly confided in her later that night about her anxieties of possibly liking women, too. It was another reason the two got on so well.

Stella waved a hand dismissively, "Right right, technicalities. All I'm saying is you deserve someone who'll treat you like a queen, and I don't think Riven is the person for that. Besides, if he can't see how great you are then he can just choke."

Musa took another swig of her tequila and coughed at the burn in her throat, "I know, I just really liked him Stell. He's snarky, and our back and forth was so much fun. Not to mention his hair is really pretty."

The sun fairy scoffed, "So what? Hello, magic to Musa! He's also a complete ass, and apparently has the hots for some bitch witch who wants us dead! He isn't worth your time."

Most of the girls audibly agreed, except for Bloom. The redhead turned and rested her head onto the bed, using her arms to prop herself up, "I know this might sound like an excuse y'all, but maybe there's more to this than Riven just being a jerkwad. I mean, he's for sure still a jerkwad regardless, but I think Darcy might be up to something."

Tecna snorted loudly, the alcohol clearly making her less dignified than usual, "Aren't those three witches always up to something?"

Bloom shook her head, "No, I mean, I think she used some of her dark magic to put him under a spell, literally. I told you about that fake Timmy that handed me a helmet to give to Riven. And also, why was she even racing if not to conveniently be there to catch him when he crashed? I saw her get all up in his business, so what if she hexed him?"

Flora looked at her quizzically, "I don't disagree with you, Bloom, but what motivation do the trix have to spell Riven?"

Beeping could be heard from the right side of the bed, and Musa saw from her peripheral that Tecna was frantically typing on her portable computer, "No, Bloom might be right. Riven is the perfect pawn. He's emotionally unstable, easily compromised, and the ideal human tool to get intel on us. Those witches are targeting us, and they needed a spy on the inside."

Musa felt a small pang of selfish hope serge through her, Maybe if Darcy spelled him, she still had a chance. A witch's love spell is a powerful thing, and also highly illegal to use. Not like those witches cared about the regulations on dark magick or how it affected the people around them. It was totally plausible.

"So are you telling me Riven isn't a complete asshole?"

Tecna sighed, "No he's still for sure an asshole."

Musa groaned, and took another large swig of her bottle. She really just wanted to forget where she was and stop feeling like her intestines had been ripped from her stomach. Feelings were stupid.

Tecna gave her a sympathetic look, "Sorry, what I meant was a love spell still needs something to latch onto. So Riven probably does have some degree of lust for Darcy, but the spell amplified it considerably. And I don't think she hexed him just because she thought he was cute. He's definitely being used."

"Okay and? He's filled with some powerful dark magick and is now dicking down one of the three evil sisters on a conquest to take our magic? That's messed up." Stella was never subtle, especially when drinking.

Musa groaned louder, and sunk herself down the bed and covered her face with the many blankets scattered across the girls. God, she did not want to imagine the two of them going at it. She felt Flora lightly pat her leg in sympathy.

Tears welled in her eyes, maybe drinking hadn't been the best idea after all. She was an emotional drunk, and had a tendency to break down when sober, so the drinks would only elevate that.

Tecna looked pointedly at Stella, "It's not like he has a choice. If he is spelled he's for sure not aware of it. Riven doesn't seem like the type of person to want his freedom to be compromised willingly. He's not in control of his own actions."

Musa perked up, "So does that mean what he said to me might've just been Darcy's powers?"

"I'd hope so. From what you recounted he was rather vile to you, and I wouldn't put it against Darcy to make sure he treated all of us specifically with distaste."

"Listen, Musa," Tecna was now doing her best to look her in the eye, leaning over Stella, "I don't want you to get your hopes up. I know you really like Riven, but as your roommate and friend I want you to proceed with caution. I can work with Timmy and see if we can monitor Riven for any signs of dark magick, but if it turns out he's just being a dick, I want you to be able to let go."

This is why Musa loved Tecna. No matter how drunk she was, or how distressed her emotions were, the pink haired girl always knew what to say. Her advise might've sounded cold to other people, but to Musa it was a breath of honesty that frankly she needed most of the time. Tecna cut the fat and got right to the important bits.

She had a choice to make. Either keep hope or let go and move on. The facts were not all there, and she knew that if Riven had been spelled and was acting like this because of a love spell then she would fight on. Even if Stella would disagree, Musa thought he was worth it. However, if he had organically formed some sort of lust for Darcy, and decided to team with the Witches, she couldn't sleep at night with the idea of Riven still in her heart. He wasn't worth that kind of betrayal, and she was strong enough to fight for herself, too.

"I know, Tec."

Musa shifted closer to Stella, and laid her head on the blondes shoulder. Stella instantly shifted and curved her tan arm around her shoulder, squeezing her into a half hug.

"Trust me girls, as of right now my feelings for him have been pushed aside. I'm more concerned about what those witches are planning, and what Riven potentially has to do with it."

Bloom nodded, "I agree, but I'm sorry you have to choose between your feelings and us, Musa. It shouldn't have had to come to this."

She couldn't agree more, "No, you're right, but some things are out of my control. He's with Darcy now, and I can't do anything about that."

There were a few beats of sympathetic silence before Musa decided this was just pathetic. She sprung herself off the bed and sprinted over to one of her many boomboxes, skimming through her CD rack. Fuck this, fuck Riven, and fuck dating. Her attitude had shifted, and she was done moping. Instead she just wanted to have a good night with her girls and get gloriously drunk, and _not_ think about amber eyes and smooth, deep voices.

"Well that's enough sad boy talk for tonight me thinks! Who's up for a dance party?"

Stella quickly scurried off the bed, pink night gown flying every witch way. She squealed in delight, "Oh me! I loooove a good dance session, especially while drinking, makes me loose! Do you have any Baby Doll Pixie albums by chance? I could really get down to them right about now."

Musa smirked and pulled a light pink plastic case from her collection, "I like the way you think blondie."

She threw the disc of one of their older albums into the designated slot and pressed play. The whole room erupted in a wave of synth pop music and all the girls were on their feet, laughing and swaying wildly to the music. The large stash of alcohol was quickly devoured as the albums played on.

Stella had lost her nightgown around the time the third album started blasting, and was now dancing with herself in her underwear, a bottle of brandy in her right while she swayed. Bloom and Flora had completely zonked out on the floor, curled into one another while Kiko slept atop Blooms head.

The last two winx girls were currently cuddled in Musa's bed, and both were just trying to stay awake and coherent enough to talk to one another.

"Hey, Musa?"

"Yea..?"

"M'sorry, bout the whole Riven thing. I dunno if you still wanna talk 'bout it, but he's being a jerk and I'm here for you."

Musa giggled, and lazily threw an arm around Tecna's middle, "S'okay. I know it's dumb. Just liked him a whole bunch. Really wanted to run my hands through that hair. Maybe find out what he smelled like up close."

"Oh, gross."

She kicked Tecna lightly in the shin and laughed harder, "Don't bully me, pinky. I know where you sleep at night."

Tecna was close enough that Musa could smell the alcohol on the other fairies breath, "Ohhh I'm sooo afraid, whatcha gonna do? Hurt me with some lullabies?"

Musa couldn't help but snicker as Tecna fumbled over the word 'lullabies' a few times before actually getting it out. Clearly she was now way past tipsy and more so extravagantly drunk. The two of them probably looked like a pair of morons giggling at each other.

She wouldn't trade these moments for anything.

"It's not dumb, by the way."

Musa didn't follow. As well as she could hold her liquor, she had to admit she was a little absent minded in her current state.

She must've looked incredibly lost because Tecna continued with an explanation, "Riven. It's not dumb that you have feelings for him. You're allowed to feel emotions, Musa. I know I'm not always the best when it comes to this kinda stuff, but I wanted you to know that."

Musa frowned, "Oh, I, yeah, I mean...yeah."

She was feeling a lot of complex things all at once. A serge of love for Tecna and her brashness, a surge of anger towards Riven for making her feel so small, and also a surge of sorrow for what was about to come.

A war was on its way, and Musa knew that her feelings were something she needed to feel in order to deal with them in a healthy matter, but she felt like this wasn't the place or time. The air felt electric, and dark energy was being cultivated. Every fairy in this school knew this year was going to end in tragedy, even if most were in denial about it.

Musa wasn't. She would be prepared to fight, like she always was. Like she always needed to be.

She responded again, this time trying her best to sound clear, "Thank you, for caring. I love ya lots, Tec."

Tecna's eyes had closed, she was clearly in some state of drunken half sleep, "I do too, to you, I mean. Nap time though, Muse, m'tired."

It had to be around three in the morning by now, so Musa relented. Even if she did want to stay up and keep talking, it would be selfish to keep Tecna awake.

"K, sleep well."

"Mhhm, will do."

The last few fleeting thoughts Musa had before she passed out were about how funny Tecna's hair looked right now, sticking up every which way, and also about Darcy. She was not a fan of women fighting one another because of some guy, but she wouldn't hesitate to put that witch in the ground if she found at that she actually had hexed Riven. No matter what he was still her friend, and she wouldn't stand for anyone messing with one of her people.

The last thing she did was push a more wild piece of Tecna's hair out of the girls face, and fell into a dreamless sleep quickly after.

* * *

**Its a bit shorter than my other chapters, but I felt it was important to delve a little deeper into Musa's feeling about this whole ordeal. **

**Until next time! **


	5. The Aftermath of War

**Hi y'all, I'm so sorry for not updating in ages! School has been super hectic and I also work over twenty hours a week on top of going to class full time so I really have little time to write, but I'm back! **

**I'm going to try and update every few months now, hopefully. Also, for anyone who is interested in giving me your opinion, how do you feel about NSFW content being added to this fic? I've been thinking of writing some light sex scenes (clearly when they're of age and when it progresses into the story naturally) and I just wanted to know how ya'll feel about it. I totally understand that these characters are like, different ages in different iterations of the show and comic, but I always went with the idea that they're in college and in their late teens/early twenties. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and all of the lovely comments and favs! **

* * *

Musa had never seen so much carnage in her life.

The Army of Decay had come and gone within days. Faculty and students alike had been injured, and blood had been shed all across the Alfea grounds. If you were to take a walk across the campus you'd find the remnants of sparkly fabric and wing particles, a sign that death had come and gone. It troubled Musa to see the aftermath of such a horrendous battle. It was like looking at the physical manifestation of how she felt in the moments during and after the fighting.

Five days had passed, and things had come to a stand still. No one wanted to start the renovation process. It was like if everyone started to clean up, the students would have to deal with the realities of what had happened. Bodies had been moved, of course, but it felt like time had stopped. The sadness was tangible, and you couldn't step foot outside the dorms without hearing someone sobbing.

Musa had fought like hell. The army might have been strong, but her will to live and protect her friends had been stronger. Her powers had been surprisingly effective against the creatures, the sonic waves breaking them apart from a molecular level, but they'd been persistent bastards nevertheless. The monsters just never stopped _coming_, it had been terrifying. Nothing this school taught had prepared her for this kind of battle.

She was forced to watched her classmates die. Forced to watch specialists break down as they witnessed a friend get ripped apart or a teacher lose a limb. It was like seeing a horror movie in real life, but instead of idiotic fake characters dying it was real life people. Her peers, her _friends_.

All of the teachers had tried their best to keep everything stable, but war was war, and it was hell. The Winx girls were fine, for the most part. Bloom had been amazing, and had come just in time to turn the battle from barley holding the enemy off to winning. Musa had broken her left pinkie finger and a few bones in her foot, but other than that she was just magick deprived and furious.

The current state of Alfea itself was not ideal. Multiple parts of the building were completely demolished, and with Red Fountain completely gone, all of the living specialists were stationed here until further notice. Musa was sure most of the girls would've been thrilled about this prospect if it wasn't for the fact that everyone was emotionally exhausted. No one had the energy to think about flirting and sex at the moment.

Musa was currently seated on the railing of her dorm balcony, back pressed against the cold stone to keep herself balanced as she listened to her music. Her walkman (a gift from Bloom) was balancing on her exposed thigh as she bopped her head lightly to the beat.

Since so many parts of Alfea had been damaged in the battle, many of the Alfea students were now without rooms to sleep in. Causing usable dorms to be temporary housing for displaced fairies. Currently three sophomores were stationed in the Winx's living room, causing Musa too feel even more claustrophobic than usual. So she'd been retreating to the balcony more often, just needing some space from all of the heaviness that hung in the air.

Musa was keeping track of her girls the best she could. Knowing they were okay was really the only thing holding back a complete and total mental breakdown. As long as they were okay, she was okay. At least, that was what she kept repeating to herself.

Bloom had gone home, chasing some much needed down time from all of the madness. Seeing the redhead sob uncontrollably and just keep asking for her parents when the battles finally ended made Musa's heart feel like it was being ripped from her chest. She sometimes forgot they were all just teenagers, soldiers only in training. No one was going to deny the crying girls request, so after she was checked over by one of the nurses Bloom was free to go back to earth.

Stella had locked herself away pretty quickly after Bloom left, and Musa tried her best to get the blonde to talk, but she was just met with sobs coming from the other side of the double doors. Musa had been so close to breaking the door down, and it was only the distinct sound of Brandon's voice coming from the other side that made her heart slow a few beats. Musa thank the heavens for her sonar hearing, and was just happy _someone_ was in there with her.

That stupid no boy policy be damn'd. She'd gladly take the blame for Stella if Griselda found out. As long as someone was with Stella, that's all Musa really cared about.

Flora was easier to keep tabs on. She'd been helping with all of the injured kids, making sure everyone was getting treated and cared for. The girl was amazing to watch, completely in her element. She might've been an okay fighter, but she was an exceptional healer. Musa was glad one of the five of them was helping in some way.

And finally there was Tecna. She had been severely injured in battle, and was currently lying in a bed in the infirmary, unconscious. It made Musa want to level cities and burn down buildings. She felt useless, sitting here while Tecna fought for recovery, but Musa was shit all at healing magick, so she just hoped that Flora would keep an eye on her as she recovered.

The night was pleasantly cool, and most of the students had gone to bed hours ago. Musa found comfort in the quiet of late nights, knowing everyone was safe tucked away as the moon showed overhead. Besides, sleep had been evading her quite a lot these past few days, so she had a lot of time on her hands to just sit and think.

Everything had been relatively calm until she felt something shift. Her heart was beating fast suddenly, and the hairs on her arms stood up straight. She knew this feeling all too well. Someone was watching her. It was a skill taught early on in Alfea to notice when you had eyes on you. In any other scenario she would've just passed this off as someone just glancing a little to long because she was out so late and they were just startled to see someone still awake, but with the war freshly over she was on edge constantly. Everything and everyone was a threat now.

She built up a bit of magic, and sent a sonar wave across the campus and into the forest. She made sure to keep her eyes closed and her body still, and when the wave bounced back she found there was someone looking at her. They were seated right across the other side of campus, perched on one of the ledges of the leftmost tower, facing her dorm balcony.

Cracking one eye open, she tried her best to be as nonchalant as possible while seeking out whoever was disturbing her peace. They were far enough away that it was hard to decipher any distinct features, but a tuft of magenta hair was all Musa needed to figure out who it was. Thankfully it wasn't some immediate threat, but instead was Riven.

While her anxiety quelled a bit, her heartbeat only quickened. She now had both eyes open and on him, just to make sure she wasn't imagining things in her sleep deprived state. She hadn't talked to Riven in over two months, with the whole Darcy debacle and war becoming more of a priority with each passing day. It had been found out later that he _had_ in fact been spelled by Darcy, but there was nothing they could have done to help. The witches were seniors after all, and Musa had no idea how to break such a powerful spell.

She had only seen glances of him while in battle, and was shocked to see him back on their side. She had no idea how he'd gotten to Alfea, or why he was fighting for them again. It would've been in bad taste however to go fly over to him and investigate with the battle still going strong, so she stayed in her lane.

Also, if she was being honest with herself, she really didn't want to talk to him. She was still incredibly hurt by his actions, and seeing him just brought back all of the sour thoughts she had about both him and her own self image. So when the fighting was over, she avoided looking for him. If he was back on their side then great, good for him, but she didn't need to be reminded of everything he did to her.

However, she had masochistic tendencies just like any other fairy, and the urge to go confront him was pulling her like a puppet on strings. It might've been incredibly stupid of her, but she wanted answers. He was sober now, finally off of whatever Darcy had been feeding him, and maybe they could finally patch up the wounds that were scattered all over their relationship.

Not to mention the part of her that was still his friend wanted to make sure he was alright. She still cared after all, and getting hexed by a witch was never fun. She was sure he was at least a little fucked up by the whole ordeal.

With her mind made up she made her way off of the balcony ledge and headed inside. If she was gonna go see Riven she was first going to put on some actual shoes and something else that wasn't a set of skimpy PJ's. She made sure to quietly avoid the three sleeping sophomores sprawled across the Winx's living space, and headed for her room.

It didn't feel right to be in there without Tecna, so she made it quick. She grabbed her favorite rattly flannel off the back of her desk chair and threw it on. It'd been her dad's back in the day, and she'd stolen it from him right before she left for Alfea. A physical reminder for her anytime she missed him. She made a mental note to make sure to give him a call soon. These last few days had been a chilling reminder that the people in her life were not going to stay healthy and alive forever, and she really just wanted to hear his voice.

As she opened the front door, she slipped on her trusty pair of combat boots and silently made her way out, Riven her new destination.

If she wasn't so magick deprived she would've just flown from the balcony over to where he was seated, but it was easier on her body to just take the stairs at this point. Musa didn't even know if she honestly _could _transform. All of the fighting had really taken a toll on her winx, so she wasn't going to risk hurting her body further.

She was well aware that this could end up backfiring. She had no idea what sort of headspace Riven was in, or if he even wanted to talk to her right now. He was a prickly man by nature, and the last thing Musa wanted was to make the riff between them even bigger, but she kept her shoulders back and her head high. She wanted to do this, _needed_ to do this. No matter how awkward this could go, she just wanted to at least try to patch things up with him.

He mattered to her, and that was enough for Musa to keep trying.

* * *

Riven had lost track of time. He really didn't know how long he'd been sitting out here, looking over the Alfea campus. An hour? Maybe a few? He felt a bit disoriented, the only indication of time being the fact that when he first sat down dusk had just settled over the horizon. Now the stars were out, and most people had made their way to bed, still completely exhausted from the aftermath of war.

Except for her.

Musa had come out sometime around sunset, perching herself onto the railing of her balcony with her headphones on, like a bird trying to find some semblance of solitude. From this far away he really couldn't make out any of her features, but her body language spoke for her, and he could tell she was utterly exhausted.

He hadn't meant to watch her. Not at first, anyway. It didn't help that he could see so much pale skin exposed from what he assumed to be her pajamas. She was almost glowing in the hazy light of the moon. More than that, though, he had come to realize that he hadn't seen her in over two months. He vaguely remembered a fairy hunt and a blaze of pigtails and lavender crashing into him, but that's it.

A few days before crashing down into Darcy, Riven had come to terms with the fact that he definitely had a thing for the fierce storm that was Musa. Brandon had finally cracked him. He had first just admitted to it to shut the brunette up, but he knew there was some truth behind the confession. It wasn't like he was madly in love (Riven didn't even know how to conceptualize those types of feelings), but he felt pulled to the girl, like even if he wanted to stop staring at her he couldn't.

Darcy had fucked him up, that was just a fact. And now as he sat here, watching Musa's head lightly sway as she listen to her music, he realized just how much of a haze the last few months had been. He'd lost all sense of reality, apparently a common side effect of the love spell Darcy had used on him. He felt ripped open, and honestly he _really_ hadn't meant to stare this long, but Musa was the only living thing out right now, and it grounded him to know she was alive and safe.

Meeting her eyes made his heart flip uncomfortably. She looked like a mixture of anger and fatigue. No part of him wanted to look away, so he didn't. He didn't have the energy to shift his head at this point. They were locked in a battle of watching, until she abruptly got up and left. The balcony door shutting softly behind her, leaving Riven alone.

He could only assume he'd freaked her out, and that's why she'd retreated back to her dorm. Fair enough, he was well aware this was bordering on the line of creepy. He was also aware that whatever interactions they'd had while he was under Darcy's spell hadn't been pleasant, and if he was a better person he'd have found her immediately and apologized.

But he wasn't. Riven was a tangle of rigid bone and sarcastic malice. He said what he thought and didn't hold back, and if people wanted to leave him because he was carved sharp around the edges than that was fine with him, less bullshit to deal with.

Embarrassingly, he was also too afraid to confront her first. He felt too many things around her and it frightened him to the core. She made him feel uneasy, and that was _not_ okay.

She was something soft (he could just hear the snort she'd make at the idea of someone calling her 'soft') that he knew if he attached himself to her he'd regret it somehow. At least he assumed so. She would certainly cut herself too deep on him one day, and he couldn't forgive himself if he was the blade that bled her out. She deserved something more than his broken emotions and unwavering prickliness.

He wanted her though, he was selfish like that.

Seeing her walk out of the main Alfea doors towards him was a shock. Apparently she hadn't retreated, but instead had taken the long way down, and was now a little more covered and making her way to where he was seated.

The flannel she wore made her frame look even smaller than usual, enveloping her in a cotton plaid. And as she got closer he could see all of the still healing wounds that littered her legs and exposed midriff. It made some primal part of him flare with rage. Of course she'd be covered in wounds, it was her. They'd just gotten done fighting in a war, but that didn't stop him from being pissed that someone had the audacity to cause her harm.

Ironic, really, seeing as he'd caused her a fair bit of emotional distress the last few weeks and didn't even bat an eye. He pushed that thought deep down to deal with later.

She was now standing at the bottom of the tower, her body moving and restless. She was looking directly at him, head thrown back and bangs lightly blowing in the wind, her pigtails a little more disheveled than usual.

"Hey."

A few beats of silence, "...Hey."

Riven didn't know where to go from here. Clearly she didn't either. If there were two worse people equipped to deal with this type of social situation, he'd love to meet them. It'd make him feel a lot better about being this painfully awkward when it came to dealing with the tension between the two of them.

"Yeah, hey."

Riven felt a smirk start to form that he didn't let show, "You said that already, Pixie."

Her face went scarlet in seconds, and he couldn't help but think she looked a little funny and also very very young, which made his gut twist, the smell of death still so prominent in the air.

She opened her mouth to retort, but just as quickly closed it, and instead turned and started her accent up the spiral stairs to where he was currently sitting. He could only assume she was low on magic and that's why she'd been getting around on foot instead of flying.

He listened to the stomps of her boots as she neared closer, and then watched as she approached him, her face still the shade of a ripe tomato. She was fidgety, not knowing where to put herself.

"You're being weird."

She huffed, "I'm just thinking dude! Don't be an asshole."

He held back the, 'it's the only thing I know how to be' that coated his tongue in favor of scooting left so she could have a bit more room. He just wanted her to sit so shed stop moving so much. It was almost comical to see her make sure no part of them touched. He'd laugh if it didn't sting to watch her do it.

The silence they existed in was thick and uncomfortable. She was curled around herself like a protective blanket, and he'd rather bite his own tongue off then start the conversation. He didn't know what to say to her. The only thing he did know was that he could smell the lavender once again, and that an apology was bubbling in the back of his throat somewhere, burning a metaphorical hole.

"So uh, I heard you got possessed by your ex girlfriend. That's rough buddy."

Oh. So this was how it was going to go. Like a ship sinking with no one around to save it. His temper was an already lit match just waiting for a line of gasoline, and he was trying desperately to keep himself from setting the both of them on fire.

* * *

Musa was about to throw herself off this ledge. She hadn't meant to be so blunt, but the silence had become suffocating, and she wanted oxygen. Watching Riven's face clench with such anger was a clear sign she'd said the wrong thing, but she couldn't take back her words. It was becoming increasingly more common for her to wish she could, but she knew it didn't work like that.

Musa sighed, "Fuck, sorry I didn't mean-"

He sounded like he was clenching metal in between his jaw, "No it's..fine."

_God_ she felt like an idiot. She was just trying to fix this, _thing_, that hung between the two of them, and she was _so_ not equipped to put them back together.

She turned her body slightly to face him more, "So how are...you?"

This felt like pulling teeth. She just wanted to know if he was okay, but she hadn't realized how painful talking to him was going to be. Her heart felt like someone was squeezing it and the general awkwardness of the whole interaction made her want to crawl out of her own skin.

She heard him snort, "How am I? Like you said, my ex-girlfriend possessed me and made me a war accessory and then broke up with me by throwing me in jail to rot. So I'm doing fan-fucking-tastic all things considering."

If only she had a spell that could start this whole interaction over, "I...Sorry."

He was looking at her now, a complicated array of emotions settling over his high features. Musa could have probably stared at his cheekbones for hours given the opportunity.

"Don't apologize. She was a cunt, I'm over it. Besides, her and her sisters are now in high security prison, so the wars over."

Musa felt like he wasn't just talking about the actual physical war they'd all just fought. Whatever Darcy had put him through, he'd fought like hell to escape it it seemed. A bitter part of her recognized from the way his shoulders sank that clearly he had felt something for the witch. She knew deep down he had found Darcy attractive, who wouldn't. She did not, however, let herself think that even without the spell, maybe they would have gotten together naturally, if only Darcy hadn't been so hell bent on destruction instead of love.

Her more rational side understood Riven didn't get to choose who he was attracted to. She_ knew_ that, but she still wished for him to look at her with some sort of interest.

She tried her best to sound as level as possible, "I know I..I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It's why I came over here."

He raised a brow, "Was that it then?"

This guy could really send her from zero to one hundred with as little as a snide comment, "Dude, come on! I just wanted to come check up on you. Maybe if you hadn't been creeping on me I would've left you alone!"

Another wave of silence. The two of them were like oil and water, and Musa was putting them together regardless of how much they repelled. She wanted them to work damnit! Or at least be civil with one another. He really seemed to need a friend right now.

She changed the subject, "Have you seen the boys at all? I know Brandon is with Stella right now, but I haven't seen the others since before the fighting started."

Riven looked like an animal being hunted, uncomfortable and stiff, "I fought with them, and I know they're alive. Haven't seem them since though. We really aren't on the best terms right now."

Oh.

It made sense, they might have put their differences aside to fight the greater war, but Riven had still done a lot of incredibly awful things. Honestly Musa was surprised that he hadn't been kicked out of Red Fountain yet, Or at least what was left of it. Professor Saladin must've had some coming to mercy moment. Clearly the other guys were keeping him at an arm's length though. It would probably take months to regain their trust. Musa felt like someone had handed her a shovel and told her to dig.

She couldn't help but let out a wet laugh, tears pricking her eyes, "_God_ I'm real shit at this."

Riven rolled his eyes, "Yeah, clearly."

"You're seriously not helping through! Christ, you could at least give me something to work with."

Strike two.

Riven was now hunting instead of being hunted, using his words like a bullet to pierce through flesh and blood, "I don't_ owe_ you anything Musa, _fuck!_ Why do you act like I'm supposed to open up to you? I barely know you!"

That one stung. Musa felt like she was running around in circles, like a chicken with its functioning brain laying to the side while her body ran amok. He was right though, she had no authority over his emotions. She didn't know him, she was barley his friend. She wanted to be though, so badly she wanted to figure out what made Riven tick.

She put her head between her knees and breathed in. She needed to stay calm, she didn't have any right to be angry, not right now. To much war had happened, too many people lost parts of themselves. Right now she was just focused on choosing her words better.

She took a deep breath, "No, you're right. You don't owe me anything and I shouldn't expect you to open up to me when we barely know one another. I know I'm shit at this, but I _want_ to know you Riven. I want to be your friend."

Another long silence, then, "Why?"

That made Musa stop and think. Riven was difficult and mean and had a temper that could rival her own, and yet she kept trying to break him down to the nicer parts that she knew existed under his cold demeanor. She'd met civil Riven before, and she wanted to keep getting to know that side of him so desperately.

She weighed the prospect of telling him about her feelings. She had an inkling that he already knew, and that made her want to throw up just a little. She was awful at opening up, but one of them needed to or they were going to sit here in silence forever.

Musa took another deep breath, "honestly I've had a thing for you since I met you, dude. And I'm not saying I'm trying to be your friend just to get into your pants, because that would be a real dick move on my part, but I care about you Riven, and you're someone I believe is worth fighting for. So yeah, I want to be your friend, and I guess more, really, but no matter what happens I've always wanted to get to know you better than just being civil when the other specialists are hanging around the girls."

She kept her eyes on her hands the whole time she spoke, too nervous to look anywhere but down. She felt like she weighed a thousand pounds and also was as light as a cloud.

"So, you're saying you want to...sleep with me?"

A loud 'slap' echoed as her hand connected with the hard muscle of his bicep as she smacked his upper arm with the back of her hand. Her face was burning, and the only thing keeping her from completely combusting into dust was the fact that for the first time tonight she saw a smile creep onto his hard features.

Musa was frustrated, but her laughing retort betrayed how she felt. She was just glad to see Riven enjoying her antics rather than upset with them, "Oh come on man! I just laid my heart out bloody and scared shitless for you and that's what you took from it?"

He was rubbing his arm is faux pain as his smile turned into a wicked smirk, "I'm a guy, Musa, and when a pretty girl says she wants to sleep with you our brains don't really process much else."

She had to remind herself this wasn't the time to short circuit at the fact that he called her pretty and continued, "Yeah well, right now I'm just trying to get you to talk to me, not go do it behind the science wing, so like, focus for a hot minute."

She could see he was holding back laughter and was pleased with herself. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"I know you don't owe me your emotions or time, but whatever you went through was probably super fucked up so i'm just trying to be here for you. No ulterior motive, just an ol' platonic ear to listen to whatever you've got to say."

Riven stayed silent, and that made Musa panic a bit.

"Or like, you don't have to talk at all. That's totally cool too."

Musa desperately wished she had the emotional skills that Flora did to read the body language of a person. It would have helped so much in situations like this. Riven's eyes looked soft, but the rest of him was as rigid as stone. She could only hope that what she said didn't send him over the edge, literally or figuratively.

"No I...thanks, I guess."

It wasn't the response she wanted, but it would be stupid of her to expect Riven to rip his heart out to her when he probably hasn't opened up to anyone _ever_. Growing this relationship was going to take time, and she was willing to keep working on it.

She anxiously started to undo her pigtails in an attempt to find something to do with her hands. Though the two of them were doing better than a few minutes ago, the tension in the air was still palpable and made her restless. Not to mention her hair was a mess anyway, so she might as well spend this time fixing it while finding something else to say.

A cough echoed to her right, and it took her a moment to realize it had been Riven. She quickly slipped the two bands she kept her hair up onto her slim wrist before swiveling to face the magenta haired boy.

To say she was shocked to see his cheeks dusted a light rose was an understatement. She'd seen him flustered before, but something about this was different. He was looking at her with eyes slightly hooded and it made her whole body tingle from her head down to her toes.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

That snapped him out of whatever haze he had been in, and he crossed his arms defensively, "I've just…never seen you with your hair down is all."

Instead of verbally responding she shook her head and let her hair sway wildly across her neck and face. The scent of her shampoo calmed her, and she could see from the corner of her eye that her hair were curling a bit at the ends from the spring humidity. She always enjoyed the light tickle it gave on the back of her neck and jaw, grounding her.

She took off one of the bands around her wrist and turned her hand into a faux slingshot, aiming for Riven's chest in a small attempted to lighten the mood. She was a little tired of both the anger and sexual tension that always seemed to follow the two of them.

He caught it mid air before it met its destination, and immediately turned the projectile onto her. It hit her square in the chest, and her skin stung from the force that had been put behind the shot.

His smirk was wild, and she was just glad her antics had the desired effect.

They played back and forth for a few minutes before Musa finally slipped her hair back up, tired and content. She needed to head back to her room and actually try and get some sleep, knowing the next few days were about to be hectic.

Before she made her decent however, she grabbed Riven's exposed forearm and magicked a pen into her hand. Scrawling digits onto his pale skin she asked, "You've got a cell right? Text me sometime over the summer. Let me know your alive or send me a stupid meme or something."

"I hate texting."

"Just do it for me, asshole."

"We'll see, Pixie."

She rolled her eyes at him, and then turned around, taking double steps and she made her way back to the dorms, a warm feeling fizzing in her stomach.


	6. The Forgotten Chapter

**Hi all! I'm back once again even though its been months lmao **

**So this chapter is a little different, its something I forgot to add in originally since I wrote it to be an earlier chapter but then forgot about it lol, but I still really enjoy the contents of it and the plot so I decided to add it in anyways even if it throws off the flow of this fic a bit. **

**Again thanks for reading, and another reminder that this is _not_ BETA'd at like, all, so I know there are spelling/grammar mistakes, I just write this as a hobby bc I love my girls a lot. **

* * *

When Musa had heard the news that Alfea was going to hold its first ever Fairy Fighting Tournament, she just about exploded. The announcement had been given on a bright Thursday afternoon after first period, Faragonda had called all of the students to the auditorium to have a school wide meeting, and none of the girls had really known why.

"Well hello girls! First of all I would like to congratulate you all on finishing midterms! Some of you girls have blown both me and the other teachers out of the water with your growing skills, and we are all very proud of you!" The auditorium erupted in claps and cheers of delight from all the young fairies. Clearly all of the girls were just happy to be done with exams.

"Second of all, it is my pleasure to announce that the school has decided to hold its first ever Fairy Fighting Tournament!"

The sounds of the girls screams shook the walls of the auditorium, and Faragonda had to take a step back from the magnitude of excitement and magic that flowed throughout the room. Musa herself was buzzing with untamed energy. She knew that other fairy schools held these types of tournaments, but Alfea had always opted out of competing when invited. Apparently the school's founder believed these types of functions to be too barbaric for such 'prestigious and well tamed' girls.

When Musa had heard that in her intro to fairies class she had all but spit out her morning coffee. Alfea has produced some of the most barbaric fairy warriors this side of the magical dimension had ever seen. To call them tame seemed like an insult to both them and their achievements.

"Now settle down girls, I know this is all very exciting, but it comes with a few more serious issues. There are whispers of a war brewing, and we are holding this tournament to test you and your abilities and see how you measure with the other fairies of the realm. We want you all to be as prepared as possible if we need you to fight, and this seemed like the best opportunity."

The room was hush with light chatter, and Musa couldn't help but spare a glance at Bloom. The girl was radiating anxiety, and after both the breakin at Cloud Tower to get Stellas ring back, and the fight the Winx had gotten into with the witches when the came into Alfea looking for some strange power, it was no wonder she was worried. Musa knew Bloom was some important part of the bigger picture, and was also sure that the rumors about a war were not just hearsay, but an actual threat they needed to start preparing for.

A hand in the crowd raised, and Faragonda nodded her head towards the student, indicating she had the floor to speak.

"Do we have to compete? I just don't know if I feel comfortable with this, my concentration is in healing after all, not magical combat."

Faragonda nodded again and looked back into the general crowd, addressing all of them, "Thank you for the important question Selia. No, if you decide you don't want to participate in the tournament, we will not make you." Musa felt some of the anxiety in the room dissipate, knowing that many of the girls here who were studying to become a healer or godmother weren't the most keen on brazen violence.

"However, it is highly encouraged that you girls participate regardless, and we expect any fairy that has a concentration in fighting and combat to enter. This is a great opportunity for you girls, and we expect you to represent our school well."

More cheers erupted, and Faragonda raised her hand to silence the crowd, "One more thing before I dismiss you. This will not be a monetary event, meaning no tickets will be sold. We are not here to turn you all into a spectacle, but we will allow you girls to invite any loved ones you choose. You will all have two invitations with your name on them to give to whoever you please, so choose wisely. The event will happen next Saturday, and the paperwork for entering must be in by this Thursday or you will not be allowed to participate. Both Beta Academy and The Cornelia School for Magical Girls have already registered to be in the tournament, so bring your A-game."

Musa couldn't help but grin. This was going to be absolutely wild. Alfea fairies were finally getting their time to shine in an actual battle tournament, and it made her want to burst with joy. The school had some amazing fighters, and it was damn well time they got to shine.

Faragonda let our a burst of magic from her hands, sending an array of flower petals and sweet scents flying in the air, "You are now dismissed, have a good day at classes girls!"

One last cheer erupted, and then the auditorium rumbled with the movement of the Alfea student body going back to their regularly scheduled day. The winx girls all had some time to kill before their afternoon classes, so they all made their way back to the dorm.

Stella was practically floating off the ground as they walked down the hall, "This is so thrilling girls! I for one am signing up pronto. Nothing will stand in my way of kicking some major Beta ass! Who's all planning to participate? Musa I know you wouldn't pass this up, it's right up your alley."

Musa winked at her, "Oh dude, you know I'm signing up immediately. I wouldn't miss a fight like this for anything."

Bloom had vigorously agreed, while Tecna and Flora had exclaimed they'd both be sitting this one out.

"It's not that I don't think I could do well, I just think its a bit illogical to pin us all against one another if what Faragonda said was true about the war. We don't need any animosity forming."

Flora nodded, "I agree, and I'm also focused in plant healing, _not_ fighting. I'd love too girls, but I just don't think I'm up for it."

Musa could see where the two girls were coming from, but was too pumped to care. This was gonna be major for Alfea. Not to mention she was elated to actually get to fight. Besides the few incidents with the witches and that Dragon incident with Riven, she'd been deprived of real world practice. She knew the school wanted to ease freshman into the physical combat side of being a fairy, but she felt like her powers were wasting away inside of her as she sat through class after class on magical history and potions. Now was her time to show what she was really made of to the Alfea school body.

As the girls opened the door to their shared living space, Stella immediately headed for her currently charging cell phone, jumping from foot to foot as she went.

"Who are you planning to call, Stell?" Bloom asked, intrigued.

"My parents! I'm going to invite them to come to the tournament." She was already dialing when Bloom inquired, "Oh, I thought you were gonna ask Brandon. I'm sure your parents would love to come see you though!"

Stella looked like her hand had just caught fire, and quickly dropped the phone back onto the counter where she usually kept the device, "Brandon! Oh no, you're totally right! But I don't have enough tickets for him and my parents." She crossed her arms, and stomped her heeled foot in faux anger, "Oh, this sucks!"

Stellas bright mood had been turned down a few notches, and she looked like a kicked puppy. Musa couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. As Musa flopped onto the couch next to Tecna, she heard Bloom respond, "Well, Stell if you wanted to you could use my other ticket for Brandon. I was only planning to use the one for Sky, since it's not like my parents would be able to cross that magical barrier and come see me fight anyway."

Bloom was quickly enveloped in a hug by the spunky blonde, "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou, this is perfect, problem solved!"

Musa rolled her eyes, and acknowledged her two more mild roommates with intrigue, "So what about you guys?"

Flora was seated in one of the single plush chairs they had scattered around the living room, scrolling through her phone, "Oh I'll probably just magic them to my parents like Stella. Even if i'm not competing im sure they'd love to come see this."

Tecna silently nodded in agreement, and kept playing her handheld game device. Her head was laying in Musa's lap, while her feet were dangling off the side of the couch. It made Musas heart swell to know Tecna felt comfortable enough with her to initiate such casual physical contact.

Bloom took a seat on the floor, wanting to join in on the conversation, "And you, Musa?"

"Uh," she honestly hadn't really thought about it super hard. She didn't have a lot of friends outside of her roommates, and her dad sure as hell wouldn't want to come. He was way too busy with his world tour to come watch some teenage fairies beat the shit out of one another.

"I guess I could give them to Riven and Timmy, I'm sure they'd want to come. Especially if Brandon and Sky are going."

She heard Tecna chirp a quick, 'Ha', and looked down at the pink haired fairy, eyebrow raised, "Got something to say to me, Tec?"

Tecna shrugged her shoulders, nonchalaunt as ever, "Oh it's nothing, I just think its quite funny you are so quick to hand over your tickets to _Riven_ of all people."

Musa felt her cheeks grow hot, and flicked Tecna hard in the nose, "What? I just don't have anyone else to give the tickets too and both Riven and Timmy are my friends! Might as well let 'em have the tickets instead of letting them go to waste."

"Right, _sure._"

She pushed Tecna off her lap lightly, making sure to not hurt the girl, and crossed her whole body in faux anger.

Stella had finished her call with her father, and slinked up next to Musa, pushing their bodies together as close as possible.

"Oh come on Musa, just admit it, you think that chauvinist hot head is the yummiest thing this side of magix has to offer and you want a piece. Its okay to say yes, no one here is gonna judge you."

Musa wanted to disappear. It wasn't that she was head over heels for the guy, but she did have an affinity for the magenta haired specialist. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop her mind from tingling pleasantly whenever she saw him.

"Okay fine, yes, I think he's attractive, but it's not that big of a deal! And I don't wanna talk about it, so can we please drop it?"

Flora sent her a sympathetic smile, "Of course, sweetie. Whatever makes you the most comfortable."

Stella got in a, "I called it though, you all know I called it," before she stood back up, heading towards her room. Musa was never someone to let the last word not be hers, and brought her foot up and lightly kicked the blonde in the ass, causing her to squeal and hold her rear as she ran to her room.

All of the girls devolved into a fit of laughter, and the day continued on as scheduled.

* * *

Brandon had walked in with Sky right as Riven was drifting off to sleep.

"Wake up lover boy! You're never gonna guess what event Alfea just announced is happening a week from today."

It was a Saturday night, and Riven had decided to stay in and read the strategy book he'd taken out from the library early yesterday. Brandon had called him a lame ass for staying in on a Saturday night, but it wasn't like he wanted to go socialize anyway. Timmy had gone to hang out with the tec dweebs, and Brand and Sky had decided to go and take their girlfriends out to dinner or something. Riven hadn't really paid much attention when they told him they were heading out, not really caring who or what they did in their free time.

"Dude get the fuck out, I'm trying to sleep."

Brandon sat down onto Timmy's bed, ignoring the pile of tec that was scattered on top of it, "Oh no buddy, you're gonna want to hear this. Apparently Alfea is holding a huge Fighting Tournament for the fairies this year, to boost moral or whatever."

Riven was wide awake now, and sat up to face the two boys, "You're joking right? I thought Alfea didn't believe in 'organized sanctioned fighting' or whatever the fuck, what changed?"

Brandon shrugged, "I have no idea, but I for one am very excited." Riven watched as Brandon reached into his jean pocket, digging around for something, "Catch is, you need a ticket to get in, and those are only distributed by the students, can't buy em'. But guess which two lucky bastards have some beautiful and amazing girlfriends who happen to go to Alfea and are participating in the fight."

Brandon held up the tickets like they were made of gold, and was giving an award winning smile. Riven deflated, knowing full well there was no way he was gonna get his hands on a ticket if he couldn't buy one. The only fairy he actually got along with was Musa, and that was a stretch, really. Besides, she was probably going to give her tickets to her parents or something.

"Annnddd, it so happens one very musically inclined fairy generously donated her tickets for you and Timmy to go as well."

Riven all but flew out of his bed, grabbing for the other pair of tickets Brandon was now waving in the air. Brandon however had anticipated the attack, and was fast enough to dodge him, holding out a hand to catch Riven and keep him at bay.

"Woah, slow down stud. I'll give you the tickets, I just want some info first. On a scale from one to ten, how willing would you be to go on a date with our dear sweet friend Musa?"

Riven growled, and aggressively swung for Brandons hand, "Piss off Brandon, just give me the damn tickets."

"What? Smash or pass? hit or miss? I just want some sort of answer from you about Musa is all. You can clearly tolerate her better than other girls, which for you is essentially a marriage proposal."

Riven successfully got the tickets out of Brandons hand and slapped him upside the head. Ticked off that he was trying to pry into his life once again, and even more frustrated with the fact that he cared so much. Seriously this guy never let up.

Avoiding the questions about his love life, he changed the subject slightly, "Is she planning to fight?"

Sky, who'd been silently watching the two of them bicker from the side of Timmys bed laughed, "Dude it's _Musa_, of course she's gonna fight. Sometimes I think that girl likes hitting people more than you do."

Riven let our a sarcastic, "ha," and sat back onto his bed.

"So you're gonna go?"

"I'm sure as hell not gonna miss a bunch of fairies beating the shit out of one another, that's for sure."

Sky beamed at him, "Well, good, you can sit with us and the girls then."

Riven put up the middle finger in response, "Great, now get the hell out of my room."

* * *

Saturday came fast, and as Riven and the boys parked their levabikes in the Alfea parking lot, he couldn't help but marvel at the amount of people that showed up to watch some pixies beat the shit out of one another.

Even without them selling any formal tickets, there must have been around two thousand people congregated in the quad area of Alfea, waiting to be let into the Arena in the back of the school. Apparently, some of the teachers had built it with magic in preparation for the fight a few days ago, seeing as this event was not a regular occurrence that happened for the school and they needed somewhere to house the fighting.

Stella and the rest of the girls had spotted them quickly walking through the crowd, and Riven would never admit to the fact that the first thing he noticed was that Musa wasn't with them.

"Hello boys! Welcome to Alfea's first ever Fairy Fighting Tournament! I will be your official guide this evening." Stella did a dramatic backflip pose, briefly using her magic to shift into a hostess outfit, and then back to her civilian garb. Riven rolled his eyes.

Brandon smiled and walked up to her, dipping her lightly while kissing her on the cheek, "Hiya pretty lady." Riven put his finger in his mouth and faked a gag sound. Sometimes (most of the time) Riven did not understand Brandon or his antics. Timmy lightly hit him with the back of his hand on his bicep, indicating that Timmy thought he needed to be a bit more refined while in public.

Riven noticed sky looking around as he slung an arm around Bloom, "So where's Musa? She is fighting right?"

Riven let out a sigh he didn't realize he was holding in. He was glad someone else had inquired about Musas whereabouts so he didn't have to.

"She's getting some last minute practice in apparently," Flora spoke, soft as ever, "I told her I was worried about her tiring herself out before the match, but she wouldn't listen."

Tecna snorted, amused, "Does she ever? I swear that girl doesn't understand the meaning of self preservation."

Riven couldn't agree more.

"Oh she'll be fine! Come on y'all!" Stella was leading them through the crowd, pushing her way through as she did so, "Bloom and I can walk you guys to the entrance of the Arena, but after that we have to go where all of the fighters are supposed to wait until their match is called."

Riven, for the first time in his life, hoped for Musa's sake Stella was right.

* * *

The seats in the Arena were a plush pink, and the large structure matched perfectly with the exterior of the school. A light pink with dainty fixings and intricate stone work. Riven had to scoff at how _Alfea_ everything was. Leave it to the teachers to make something that looked like a princess playground where actual princesses were about to beat the snot out of one another. He hoped they could magic the blood out of the lower walls, as he knew there were about to be some brutal battles happening here in just a few minutes.

As more people trickled in, the excitement of the tournament got more and more palpable. Parents had come from all over the realms to see their daughters fight, and Riven had to admit he was getting a little hyped himself now that he was here. If you'd have asked him just a few months ago if he believed fairies could be good fighters, he'd just of laughed and walked away, but now he'd had to many experiences fighting alongside them to say no. It also didn't help that Brandon would go on feminist tangents every time he said something even a little misogynistic

"So why aren't you girls fighting?"

Both Tecna and Flora turned in their seats to acknowledge Timmy. The boys had been placed one row above them, as this had been the only arrangement where they could all be relatively close to one another. The arena was packed.

Tecna shrugged, "I just don't see a point in using my powers to fight someone I'm on the same side of, and Flora is a healer, not a warrior. We had the option to opt out, so we did."

Timmy nodded in understanding, "Fair enough. Do you think the other girls will do well?"

"Depends on who they are fighting. I've gone through about a thousand different scenarios with just the other girls participating who are students of Alfea and the data is mixed. Bloom seems to come out with the best results across the board, but we will just have to see. I'm not planning to underestimate the girls from Beta or Cornelia, and you shouldn't either."

Riven scoffed, he knew Musa could do better than Bloom. He'd watched that girl take on a minotaur with just her fists, no magic required. That girl could fly circles around Bloom in battle.

Timmy raised a brow, "So its a random pick then?"

Flora nodded, "Yep, they don't know who they'll be fighting until their names are called. It keeps the fight fair."

A bell rang through the Arena, and everyone turned their heads to the middle of the stadium where Miss Faragonda stood, poised as ever, microphone in hand.

"Welcome everyone! I'm glad to see so many people joining us here on this beautiful Saturday afternoon!"

The crowd roared, clearly excited for the fighting to finally start.

"Now as you all know, this is the first ever Fairy tournament Alfea has held, and we are beyond thrilled to welcome the other girls participating from both Beta and Cornelia! Please give them a round of applause."

The audience clapped once again, and Riven heard a few loud screams come from somewhere on the other side of the arena, clearly supporters of the other two fairy schools, probably family members.

"Now without further ado, lets get on with the show! Each battle will be timed, seven minutes on the clock. And if there is no clear winner by the end a draw will be called. Remember girls, no magic will be cast before the countdown ends and the bell rings to start the battle. Please play fair, and most importantly, have fun!"

The first two girls to be shown on the large monitors above the VIP box were two freshman from Beta Academy. Priscilla of Andros and Marissa of Basall, and it only took approximately two minutes before Marissa had the Andros girl locked in a death grip, slowly suffocating the girl. Marissa had tapped out, and the bell rung, indicating the end of the battle. A female referee came out onto the field and threw Priscilla's arm into the air, indicating she had won the match. The crowd roared. The next battle started.

It took three more fights before Stella's face appeared on the screen. Brandon had hollered loudly when he saw her, and from the adjacent screen it looked like she'd be facing a sophomore from Beta, another girl from Andros, Camille.

Riven heard Tecna snark, "Oh this'll be interesting."

He watched as the blonde sauntered out of the right opening onto the field. She quickly shifted into her Winx form, and her blue sun spear was raised high in the air.

The battle started and ended fairly quickly. It only took for the Andros girl to get Stellas outfit completely soaked for her to blast the Beta girl to a crisp. She fell unconscious, flung to the other side of the arena, looking like she'd be nursing some nasty burns for a few weeks. Stella posed for the crowd, soaking in the praise.

"That's what you get! This is designer!"

Brandon was screaming Stellas name so loud Riven felt like he was about to go deaf. Bloom was called next, and she had been a little more evenly matched than Stella, but was able to win her round with relative ease as well. Whatever calculations Tecna had conducted, they seemed to be wrong. The Winx girls were wiping the floor with these other fairies, which made Riven hopeful that Musa would have the same luck as the other two.

After a few more battles, Musas face was the next to appear on the monitor, and Rivens chest seized. The battlefield was covered in sparkly rips of fabric and fairy blood, and as the battles went on they seemed to get more and more intense. Riven had never seen more seasoned fairies in battle before, with all their enchantix and refined magic. He was really rethinking his mentality that fairies couldn't fight, it was a spectacle to witness. Some of these girls were really out for blood.

Her opponents face appeared on the screen, and Riven read that she was also an Alfea fairy, and apparently a second semester junior. He heard Tecna gasp, and quickly looked down at the pink haired girl.

"What, what's wrong?"

Flora was gripping Tecna's arm, and Riven could easily read from their body language that this was not a good setup. His heart started to pound.

"She's up against Isabella, the fairy of voids."

Riven scoffed, voids? Sounded like a dumb power to him, "So? Musas pretty scrappy, I'm sure she can take her."

Tecna shook her head, "No Riven, you don't get it. She's essentially a perfect counter to Musa. Voids include things like total silence, and with her being a junior and her focus being in war combat, the odds are stacked against Musa tremendously."

Riven was reminded yet again that he was not a fan of analytical Tecna, "So are you saying she's going to lose?"

Tecna shook her head again, "No, but if she comes out of this completely clean I'll be shocked."

Both girls were now standing on their respective sides of the arena, winx form already powered up. Riven saw that this Isabella girl was considerably taller and bigger than Musa, and held herself with a poise of a warrior, ready to fight for all she's worth.

The countdown started, and Isabella hands started to glow a dark blue. The barley had time to ring as she violently swung her hands up, screaming some words Riven thought might be latin, and Tecna shot up in her seat, her eyes ablaze.

"She didn't wait for the buzzer to sound to start casting her magick, that's a foul!"

But it didn't look like the judges caught that, or cared. A dark bubble of magick instantaneously came down an enclosed both Isabella and Musa, trapping the two of them together.

"What the hell did she just do?" Riven's heart would not calm down. And even from here he could see Musa's body was rigid with fear. He'd never seen her look like that before, like a bird caught in a cage. It made him want to punch something.

Flora spoke softly, "It's a sound barrier, it's one of her specialties. If caught in one, you can't hear anything, not even your own breathing. It's very disorienting when caught in it."

Tecna was still standing, anger rolling off of her shoulders in waves, "And since Musa's power comes from sound, she's essentially rendered Musa without magick. She didn't even wait for the buzzer, that bitch."

Flora stroked Tecnas arm soothingly, "She'll figure it out, our Musa is resilient."

Riven heard Tecna sigh, "She's going to have to play dirty to win this one, I just hope that girl realizes this isn't an actual battle, I wouldn't put it against Isabella to go as far as to try and kill her, I've heard the rumors about her in battle class."

* * *

Musa felt a chill run down her spine the minute the barrier formed. She knew Isabella had cast her magick before the alarm had sounded, but it was a little too late to stop the fight now. Not like she could call foul anyway, she knew what this type of spell did. She tensed, very aware of her own body and mind.

She couldn't hear a damn thing, and all she wanted to do was scream.

She was well aware that Isabella had a reputation around school for being one of the most brutal fighters in Alfea, and she also knew that in terms of power, she was Musa's complete opposite. What she hadn't expected however, was for this girl to cheat. She had to think on her feet, and fast.

Isabella started to shoot blasts or power at the music fairy, giving her little chance to collect herself.

Musa ascended into the air, bobbing and weaving with ease. At least she still had her wings and speed. It was probably going to be her one advantage, and her only chance at winning this fight. She saw that Isabella was moving her mouth, casting spells, but couldn't hear what they were, giving her no indication of what to expect next.

This seriously sucks ass.

There was no sound coming from anywhere, and it _freaked_ Musa out. Her power was completely derived from sound. Music yes, but also just the sound of anything making noise. From the birds chirping to the soft pitter of rain, if it made noise she could generate power from it. So for her to not be able to hear anything meant she was rendered powerless. Her body felt like it weighed ten tons.

She needed to think of a plan, and get herself out of this before she lost her sense of reality.

As she dodged another blast of magick, she realized that the only thing she could hear were her own thoughts. They were mostly just a symphony of her own fears at the moment, but she willed herself to calm down.

She started to frantically sing one of her favorite songs to herself, hoping for a miracle. Her inner voice screamed the vocals of the tune, and Musa felt her magick surge for a second, and her heart jumped. If she could just build up enough power to blast a hole through the barrier she could squeeze herself out of this mess.

She kept singing the song over and over in her head, whizzing around the barrier and avoiding Isabella's magick as best she could, and when she finally felt like she had enough of a build up, she flew to the ceiling of the barricade.

Isabella was quick to follow her, and as Musa neared the top, she shot a blast of Magick at the ceiling. A small hole had formed, and that was all Musa really needed for her to get out. For once she was thankful for her petite size. And as she wiggled her way out of the barrier she heard the rush of noise attack her ears in a lovely symphony of people's cheers and screams. She wanted to cry at how pleasurable just the sounds of people were. She sped into the air, making sure to get as far away from Isabella as physically possible.

She knew the battle wasn't over, and if she wasn't careful Isabella would just envelope her in another barricade, but for now she had given herself a chance to win.

Musa took a quick look under her, and saw that Isabella was racing upwards and looking _incredibly_ pissed. Musa concluded that this girl and her weren't going to be able to make nice once this battle was over. Now she understood why Tecna had decided not to fight. Musa took no pleasure in fighting her own kind, even if felt like life or death at this point.

The crowd was on the edge of their seats, and with the rush of power surging back through her, Musa threw a sonic blast at the older girl. Making sure to extend the radius wide enough that it would hit her. She was thrown out of the air, and Musa felt confident that the tides of this fight were turning in her favor.

That was, until the Isabella disappeared into a black hole.

Musa looked around wildly, trying to spot where she would come out from. There was too much open space and she didn't have enough eyes, and when she felt the hot pain of magic shooting through her back and wings, she cursed herself for being so reckless and putting herself so out in the open. She had just been focused on getting away, and didn't realize her tactical error.

She felt like her back was on fire, and as she started to rapidly fall to the ground, she turned her body mid air to see Isabella smirking at her, arms crossed in triumph.

Musa wasn't going to let this girl win, every fiber of her being was screaming at her to do something. And as she watched Isabella taunt her by waving a sarcastic goodbye as she fell through the air, a feeling of absolute outrage burst through her.

The sound fairy brought her hands up to her ears, and as she whispered frantically under her breath she made sure to keep eye contact with Isabella, never breaking away. If she was going down, this girl was going with her. The spell she was using whispered into the world, and Musa knew it was illegal in these tournaments to use dark magick, but she was pissed and scared.

It's not like this battle started our fair, so it sure as hell wasn't going to end that way.

She watched as Isabella howled in pain, but Musa couldn't hear anything anymore due to the injury she had just inflicted onto herself. She had broken her own ear drums, and subsequently did the same to Isabella's. Musa had found an injury transfer hex one day skimming through some rather dark reading material while on her shift at the library, and had decided to learn it in case she ever needed it. Dark magick was forbidden to be used on Alfea grounds, but that didn't mean the girls couldn't read and learn about it if they felt so inclined.

Musa had heard the spell was something used in Cloud Tower for petty stuff like a broken nail or a ripped dress, but it had the potential to be incredibly detrimental if used with enough dark intent.

The last thing Musa saw before reaching the ground was Isabella falling, unconscious.

And then, just darkness.

* * *

The smell of antiseptic was almost too overwhelming as Musa awoke. Her brain felt like it was walking through fog, and the first thing she noticed was that everything was_ very_ white.

The next thing she realized was that she could hear the buzz of the heart machine she was attached too, so, that at least meant her hearing was back.

She could tell it was daytime, from the large window that was to the left of her bed, but had no idea what day it was, or how long she had been here. There was a vase of beautiful sunflowers placed on her nightstand, and she could make out the scrawl of each of her respected roommates. The flowers were still pristine, so that either meant it had only been a few days since the battle with Isabella, or they'd been magicked not to die by Flora. Hard to tell.

Musa felt a pang of loneliness start to bubble in the heart of her chest, and then felt a pang of shame follow. It was overwhelming, really, this feeling of regret that settled into the pit of her stomach, like she had eaten something rotten and now it was trying to eat her from the inside out. She fucked up, she knew that much, but now relaying the situation over in her head she felt like an absolute idiot.

Using that dark spell could get her expelled, or even worse, Isabella or the family could take legal action on her. It was a serious crime to use dark magic outside of the confines of witch designated spaces, and for a fairy attending Alfea to use a spell that dark, well, Musa was sure she gave Griselda a heart attack if nothing else.

She spent the next few hours in bed, just mulling over the battle and feeling sore all over. She got up a few times to use the bathroom, but other than that there was nothing else to do but lay down and think. The silence was almost unbearable, and she'd give anything for some headphones or a book. Asking a nurse was out of the question though, she knew she was on thin ice with the school in general, and she really didn't want to push it. Her goal right now was to just not get expelled.

Hearing the door open made Musa jump out of her own thoughts, and as she turned her head to look at who was entering, probably a nurse most likely, she was shocked to see Ms. Faragonda standing in the door frame, as put together as always, a complex set of emotions mixing on her slightly wrinkled face.

Musa felt like bolting for the window, her fight or flight response was being activated at an alarming rate. No matter what any of the girls at Alfea said, Ms. Faragonda was scary. She never yelled or cussed, but it was because she didn't need to. She could sink right into your bones and make you feel like you were five again being slapped on the wrist for stealing candy with just one look. She made you feel both loved and completely inferior to her with just her presence alone.

Ms. Faragonda closed the door softly behind her, taking another elegant step into the room. Musa gulped, terrified because she knew whatever she was about to be told was not going to be good news.

"Hello dear, how are you? I can see you've been awake for a while now."

That startled Musa, she didn't really expect to be asked how she was. Ms. Faragonda wasn't a rude person, far from it, actually, but when it came to matters like this Musa didn't really understand the need for pleasantries.

"Uh, I'm...okay? Good, I think. I'm not in a lot of pain, which is nice." Musa wanted to slap herself. This was not going well.

Faragonda took a seat into the vacant chair that was to the right of Musa's hospital bed, and somehow she was able to keep her elegant demeanor even in a room as bleak as this one.

"I'm glad, dear." She took a pause, Musa assumed to collect her thoughts, "Now, you and me both know why I'm here, and I wanted to start out with letting you know you will not be expelled for the display that happened a few days ago."

Musa let out the breath she'd been holding in, the feeling of needing to cry bubbling up.

"But, what you did was unacceptable Musa. In all of my years as head of this school I have only seen dark magic used a handful of times, but never to the degree that you used it. Musa, do you understand the ramifications of your actions? The pain you not only caused Isabella but also yourself and your friends?"

Tears were trickling down her face, she could feel them, hot on her skin, but she didn't have the energy to wipe them away. It was uncanny, Faragonda's ability to just rip right into your core. Musa felt strung out, like every insecurity she had was on display for Faragonda to analyze and pick apart.

Faragonda removed her glasses, placing them onto the bed while she rubbed her face lightly, "I've never seen our dear Stella so distraught, all of your girls were hysterical. Thank god Bloom raced our and caught you before you hit the ground, or you would've been in a lot worse shape."

Musa hiccuped, she was now lightly sobbing, unable to respond.

Faragonda grabbed her hand and squeezed, "Musa, you need to start understanding that every action you make has a consequence. Though you fight with gusto, you're reckless. You need to realize if this continues you're going to hurt or kill someone you love, and I cannot even begin to describe what that kind of pain feels like."

She knew Faragonda was right, as per usual, and couldn't help but notice and give a wet laugh to the fact that she sounded exactly like Riven when she'd first met the boy, him scolding her for her recklessness and exclaiming that she was going to get someone hurt if she didn't slow down. It would be funny, if not for the fact that it was probably true, and it made Musas stomach tie into knots.

"I'm... I know. I...I can do better, and I want to do better. I'm sorry I disappointed you, Ms. F."

"I believe in you Musa, please always remember that. Now, we will discuss your punishment at a later date, but be warned it's not going to be light. I know you found that spell you used while working at the library, and so for the time being I'm banning you from working until I'm confident you won't disobey the rules."

She wanted to protest, she really needed that money, but knew arguing was not in the cards for her at the moment. She nodded in agreement.

"Now get some rest, dear. We will talk later when you're fully healed."

And with that Ms. Faragonda exited the room, letting the door closed softly behind her. Musa listened to her heels click down the hallway until the sound faded. She felt both emotionally and physically exhausted. Her eyes were heavy from crying, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

Tomorrow would be better, Musa reasoned, but for now she would rest.


	7. It's a Date! Haha jk

**Uhhh long time no post y'all! Well the world kinda went to shit since the last time I updated, but this has been in my docs for way toooo long so I decided to finish it and post bc i miss this story a lot.**

**Also this follows after chapter 5, not 6. Chapter 6, like the title explains, is just a random chapter I forgot about that I decided to add in. I know it messed up the flow a bit but I enjoyed it and did not want the writing to go to waste. **

**Hope you enjoy! This isn't BETA'd so if there are any mistakes I apologize. **

* * *

Summer had come with the burst of new life. After the war and the clean up of Alfea, Musa had all but sprinted her way to the local bus station. Simply carrying a backpack filled with her favorite party clothes and the earnest determination of an eighteen year old girl ready to not take another magical combat exam for the next three months.

Music festival season was upon the magical dimensions. The warm weather was approaching, and Musa just wanted to just_ live a little_. Though she knew she was going to miss her girls and the specialists terribly; she was also ecstatic to go out and have new experiences. Ready to numb her brain a bit from the casualties of war.

With the money she saved up from being a student worker at the Alfea library she bus'd her away across the magical dimensions; backpacking from musical event to musical event. It had been such a healing experience, and she was glad to have spent the time with herself. Meeting new people and having new experiences without the stress of school or romance.

Coming back to Alfea felt both exhilarating and daunting. She was a sophomore now, not some baby faced freshman, and she felt at ease stepping back into something familiar. Especially when she knew the Winx were about to be reunited. She was also a bit worried. The last time she was on school grounds she'd watched classmates die.

The only thing outweighing her anxiety was the fact that she was about to see the her girls again. Tecna had been the only one to visit her while she trekked around the magical dimensions, meeting up to go to a few concerts together. She was desperate to see everyone and be together again.

That was the same for the specialists, and Riven too.

What she hadn't expected to happen over the summer, however, was the fact that Riven had actually texted her.

She had been at an underground rave on Tecna's planet when she'd felt her phone buzz and saw that she had a notification from him. Her jaw had actually physically fallen open, shocked to see his name blinking across her phone screen.

After their little interaction on the balcony, she hadn't really heard anything from him. Musa assumed he just didn't feel comfortable texting her, or he'd accidentally washed off her number and had forgotten to write it down or something.

No big, she could handle him just not wanting to talk over the phone. But then that text came in, a simple,

_'That band you recommended to me is pretty good. Stupid name though'_

At some point Musa had recommended him one of her favorite bands, right before the Darcy fiasco if she remembered correctly. It made her dizzy to think he actually took the time to check them out.

She sent back a quick,

_'I told you they were the bomb! And don't diss the name, I think it's kinda sick :P'_

About an hour later she felt another buzz,

_'Im sure you do, Pixie.'_

She couldn't help but laugh. He was shit at texting, that was apparent, but it made her incredibly giddy to realize that even though he'd told her he hated phones and using them, he put the effort in to send her a message anyway.

She spent the rest of that night high as hell, rocking out to some underground death metal concert she'd stumbled upon while still on Zenith. Moshing to a bunch of bands she barely knew. She made a quick mental note to text Riven back the next day when she was less likely to make a fool of herself because of her current intoxications. That, however, did not stop her from sending a selfie of herself to him as she slammed into the back of some giant punk dude who was going incredibly hard to the specific song playing.

To her delight they started a habit of texting one another. The messages were sparse, but to Musas delight they were talking and acting like semi-normal friends! So it was a win in her book.

The messages weren't anything serious, and Musa could really only get about one or two responses out of him before he stopped texting back, but it was still _something._

The last text she received from him was about three weeks ago, and since then they haven't really talked. Red Fountain was to start back up in a few days, and the new campus reveal was scheduled for two weeks from now. Musa anxiously wondered if Riven was even coming back. She really had no idea if he had been expelled or not. Stella didn't even know if we was coming back, and that girl knew everything when it came to gossip like that.

Musa walked through the main gates and through the quad up to the familiar pink stairs, which she took two at a time. She was bursting with anxious energy, just ready to be back in her room once again.

As she pushed open the double doors, she was ambushed by a blur of yellow and blue and was tackled to the ground. An array of screams exclaiming her name echoed off the walls of the dorm. She spotted a pair of flowery pink shoes through all the chaos, which she recognized as Flora's. Who was clearly trying to give her a bit of space. Unlike the other two girls currently squeezing all the air out of her small body.

All three girls stumbled to a standing position, Stella brushed down her clothes in a very motherly fashion, clearly needing something to do with her hands. Musa was glad to be home.

Stella grabbed her by the arms, hair swaying wildly as she spoke, "Musa! girl! Ohmygod I'm so excited! We are finally all here! The winx are back baby!"

Bloom currently had one hand on the back of Musa's head, rubbing through newly buzzed hair.

"Nice cut Muse, it honestly goes really well with your pigtails. When'd you get it done?"

Bloom's hand didn't stop moving, and Musa's cheeks pinked a bit at the compliment, "A week ago. Been wanting to do it for a while now but didn't have the guts too. But I thought it'd be a great, 'fuck you, I'm back,' to Griselda since I remembered that time when she went ballistic because she saw Allie had shaved half her head."

Stella cackled, "Oh yeah! She thought it was 'so scandalous and improper,' God I can't wait for that bat to get a look at the back of your head and just hit concrete."

Flora nodded her head, "It looks great sweetie. Glad to see you're well."

Musa smiled, "Speaking of, where's my Tec? I thought you said we were all here?"

"We are!" Bloom exclaimed, "She just had to go get some classes re-arranged. Apparently she's trying to take some computer classes over at Red Fountain and is having some difficulty getting them scheduled since she's already taking the max amount of credits for the semester."

Musa laughed, "Yeah, that sounds like her. I hope she comes back soon, I've got these sick photos from my trip of the bases and amps that I think she'd love. Totally retro designs."

It felt good to be back with her girls. She'd met some really cool people while traveling, but nothing compared to the way she missed the late night sleepovers and the homework crunches they'd all do together. They felt like family to her now, and she secretly cherished that.

They all spent the next few hours unpacking and catching up. Stella was determined to hear about everyone's summer; and also let them all know she spent her time mostly sneaking around with Brandon and working as an intern at one of her favorite cosmetic brands. Bloom had taken it easy and just worked for her mom at their family flower shop, saying she needed a break from all of the magic and violence. Which was totally understandable. Flora had done an internship focusing on plant health and wellness on her home planet. Musa knew Tecna had spent the summer helping Alfea beef up their security, implementing more modern forms of protection that would ensure better safety for the students and faculty.

It made Musa swell with happiness to know that they'd all spent the summer being productive and happy. They'd all been due for a much needed break.

Once Tecna had returned back from Red Fountain, they all collectively decided on going out to Magix to get some pizza. Stella insisted they all get dressed to the tens, as this was their first outing as newly made sophomores. And apparently they needed to make a good impression on the freshman also going out to explore magix.

As they all filed out of the dorm Musa felt her back pocket vibrate, startling her a bit. She pulled out her phone and was a little surprised to see a text from Riven. It was just two words,

_'u around?'_

But it was enough to make her ears burn and butterflies to burst in her stomach. It was one thing to talk casually over text about stupid one off topics, but this text had_ implications._ Like he actually wanted to see her and hang out in person.

She sent back a quick,

_'Yeah, just got back into the dorm and unpacked, whats up?'_

A few moments passed,

_'u free then?'_

Her face felt like lava was being poured onto it. He wanted to hang out _now._

She took a few minutes to formulate a response. She wasn't about to leave her girls, but also she really wanted to hang out with Riven if it was a possibility.

_'Not tonight, w/ the winx rn and about to go get food, but I'm free tomorrow any time, y?'_

She felt a pang of worry that she'd replied too fast. She didn't want to seem desperate, but she was just excited at the prospect of Riven taking the time to realize Alfea was back in session so that meant she was _also_ back, and he wanted to know if she was free to hang out. Riven, who was basically a shut in who hated human contact, wanted to hang out with _her._

There wasn't another text for the rest of the night, and even though she made it a priority not to be upset by that, it still nipped at the back of her mind. She'd seen that little check that meant he had read the text, but decided to not respond to her.

And she knew it was stupid to expect a fast response every time, but he had texted her first, so she was just a little grumpy that he decided to leave her on read all night.

It wasn't until they all got back to the dorms and were getting ready for bed when her phone buzzed once again. She tried not to get her hopes up, but it was hard when the only other people she texted on the regular were all in this dorm safe in their beds, leaving Riven the outlier.

_'Cool. I've got some shit to take care of tomorrow but do u wanna hang this weekend?'_

Musa slowly lowered herself onto her bed, letting the text sink in. To say she was shocked was an understatement. She'd assumed his lack of response had been because he'd lost interest in their conversation once again, or he had needed something immediately and since she wasn't available it didn't matter anymore, but clearly that wasn't the case.

Had he been too nervous and waited to text her because he was scared she'd say no? It made her giddy to think that she made him nervous.

She waited a few minutes to respond,

_'Yeah sure :) and not that i don't LOVE a surprise but u gonna tell me what we are planning 2 do?'_

_'Nah, but ill be there around 4 on saturday so be ready.'_

Musa rolled her eyes. Of course he'd still be a stubborn asshole even when trying to make plans with her. She sent back a quick, _'kk_' and made sure to put her phone on the charger. Her cheeks burned from smiling so much.

* * *

Saturday seemed to take a millennia to get here. Riven had only been back a week, but things seemed to drag on_ forever._ Classes were fine, and he had tried his best to make amends with the other specialists over the course of the summer. Apologizing to them (even though his ego made it feel like he was pulling out his own teeth), which meant they were on better terms than before.

Things were still strained, but he was trying his best to be as civil as possible. It seemed to be working out for the best. Well, for the most part anyway. He fought with them less, and was even able to have a decent conversation every now and again when he wasn't in a terrible mood.

He was trying to be a better person overall, and that's also why he decided to suck up his ego even more and start to message Musa.

Texting her that first time felt like he was setting fire to his own intestines. He really loathed feeling vulnerable, especially when it came with that sick feeling that settled in the pit of his stomach that reminded him he was _human_ and _venerable._

He'd made it a priority save her number the minute he got it. He absolutely hated texting, but a part of him realized that he sort of, kind of, _maybe_ missed her a little.

So he'd sent off a simple text to her, and from there they kept up small convos about nothing of great importance, but it was enough to make Riven feel like he was making actual progress in not being a total reclusive asshole.

And now, with school back in session, he decided to make the jump and ask her if she wanted to hang out. It was the first time either of them were deliberately reaching out to make plans to see one another in person, and his ribs felt like they were being squeezed so hard they'd crack into pieces.

Riven really didn't know how he felt about Musa. He didn't know how he felt about most people, honestly. He knew he liked her. He also was aware that he was attracted to her physically, at least a little bit.

He found her incredibly fascinating, with her alternative style and punk ass attitude. She was troublesome, and little intense, but he secretly enjoyed the challenges that came with her. Watching people interact with her was a good way to learn about her. She has a brash form of humor, and he caught himself laughing at something she said more than once. She treated everyone like they were a close friend, always including people into the conversations and secret jokes just to make them feel welcome. He liked that about her. He liked a lot of things about her, he was starting to realize.

He just couldn't decide if ruining their already delicate friendship was worth it. He was still a little bit in love with Darcy. No matter how much he hated to admit that, and he was also now just learning how to be an agreeable person. Less vicious. Less unstable.

He needed to make it clear to Musa that he wasn't an easy person to get along with. He was crude and sometimes nasty and said things he didn't mean because his social skills were fucked from years of a shitty childhood. Being attracted to her wasn't the same as being able to have a relationship with her. And though Riven was bad with social situations, he was smart enough to realize that he needed to take things slow right now. He didn't want to hurt her again.

Making plans with her was the first step to figuring out his own feelings. While he wouldn't consider this a date, he wasn't going to deny that maybe if he was a little less fucked in the head, and Darcy hadn't come speeding into his life, the two of them could possibly be a couple right now.

He tried not to dwell on the 'maybe's' to much these days.

* * *

The ride to Alfea was uneventful, but a small pit started to form in the bottom of his stomach the closer he got. He'd been wound tight since getting back to Red Fountain. Too many emotions going through him all at once, and not enough outlets to relive them.

Trying to be a better person really sucked ass sometimes.

As he pulled up, he noticed Musa was perched high up on one of the outside walls of the school. Right next to where the pink brick ended and the ornate gates of Alfea began.

Her head was bobbing to whatever beat was playing out of her clunky headphones. Eyes closed, and feet kicking wildly as she was blissfully unaware of him staring at her, lost in her own world. This seemed to be a recurring thing for her, Riven noticed.

He tried revving the engine of his bike to get her attention, but her music was way too loud. He felt a pang of annoyance bubbling up inside himself.

Kicking the stand of his bike out, he started to make his way towards her, picking up a small rock as he did so. With very little effort he lightly threw the rock at her leg, careful to not hurt her.

The rock hit, and she jerked at the sudden contact of a foreign object. She ripped her headphones off and turned to find whoever had decided to ruin her jam session, looking as wild and free as the last time he saw her. Her mouth formed into an angry line as she started to yell,

"Hey what the fu-oh, it's just you."

Riven raised a single eyebrow, amused, "Don't sound so excited to see me Pixie, really, desperate isn't a good look on you."

The eye roll she threw his way could've won awards, truly. He watched intently as she made a quick grab at the backpack sitting to the left of her, throwing herself off the high wall and onto the ground in one swift motion. Using a bit of magick to cushion her landing.

He was leaning against the brick wall, arms crossed and waiting. She landed right next to him, close enough that he could smell that damn lavender scent on her once again as she moved to throw her bag onto her back.

Her bangs lightly blew in the breeze as she looked up at him, eyes sparkling in the bright daylight. He'd forgotten just how short she was compared to everyone else, and it was almost comical seeing her only reach his mid chest.

Her smile was sharp as she exclaimed, "For the record I am excited to see you, asshole. Just wasn't expecting to be bombarded with rocks this early into the hangout."

Riven pushed himself off from the brick, taking a micro step towards her, arms still crossed.

"Well I tried to get your attention, but you were clearly preoccupied," he flicked the headphones hanging around her neck. "So I thought a more physical approach might work better."

She laughed, and he tried not to think about how much he liked that sound.

The subject of the rock throwing was clearly being dropped, because Musa has sidestepped him and was heading right for his levabike, leaving him to turn an watch as she walked.

The backpack she had with her looked more like a mishmash of fabric sewn together rather than an actual functioning bag. Patches and patterns covering every inch of it, leaving little of the original color showing. He wouldn't be shocked if he found out she made the bag herself.

She was wearing that same flannel she'd had on the last time he saw her, same with her combat boots. At this point he swore she had the wardrobe of a cartoon character. He focused in on her head and felt a low heat pool in the pit of his stomach when he noticed the back of her skull. A fresh new undercut clearly visible with her hair being in its signature choppy pigtails.

God, he was really trying to not be a complete headass and ruin things before they even started, but she did things to him without even trying.

She swiveled towards him, hand on hip, "Well? You coming or not? Where are we going anyway? I've really been racking my brain to figure out what you could be planning and I've come up with jack shit."

Her expression was a mix of mirth and confusion. Probably because he was still standing by the school gates and she was already putting on his spare hemet, ready to leave for their excretion.

To be honest, he still didn't really know what the plan was, either. He had sent her the initial texts on a whim, not wanting to think too hard about asking her to hang, because he would've just chickened out otherwise. And every time he tried to think of something to do, it sounded too much like an awkward first date. Which is not the vibe he was trying to go for.

So he drove today planning to wing it. It's not like he was trying to impress her romantically, no matter how complicated his feelings for her were. This was just a casual hangout, so he didn't see the point in overthinking something that was supposed to be _so_ simple.

He started to walk forward, "Dunno, thought we would just go get pizza and hang, Maybe walk around magix a bit?"

What looked like disappointment flashed across her eyes for a split second, and Riven didn't know how to process that. She spoke with ease though, her voice light. "Sounds chill with me, but how do you feel about maybe coming back to my place? We could pick up the pizza and play video games or something."

Riven raised a brow towards her, "What about your roommates? I think I'd rather gouge my eyes out and then deal with Stella right now."

Another eye roll was thrown his way, but this time with a small smile, "They're all gone, so don't worry your pretty little head. None of them will be back till at least twelve tonight, so they won't be there to annoy you."

Riven mulled over the idea, weighing out the pros and cons. He couldn't decide if being alone with her in her own space was better than being out in public and having to deal with annoying people. Both made him a tad uncomfortable, which had more to do with the fact that she made him _feel things_ rather than anything else. He was worried being alone with her might make things worse, but oh, what the fuck. It would be fine.

"Sure, I guess. Sounds better than dealing with the rich assholes who are probably shopping around Magix right now."

The ride itself was filled with the sound of them lightly bickering over the roar of the bike engine about which type of pizza was better, and what sort of toppings they should get. Riven couldn't help but focus on the feeling of her pressed into his back, the smell of her invading his senses completely.

Once they got back to the Alfea dorms, Musa made sure to be extra careful sneaking him into the school. Boys were banned from being on campus on the weekends, which Musa had exclaimed was, 'utter and total bullshit,' and that many of the girls on campus were over eighteen and had the right to make their own choices of who could come into their home.

He couldn't agree more, seeing as he now had to scale the side of the building to get into her dorm via the balcony that extended off her room.

After he pulled himself up and over the steep railing, he found the double doors had already been open for him, Musa clearly trying to make things a tad easier and not just keep him locked out on the balcony. He made his way into the space she shared with Tecna, while also listening to Musa shuffling around in the common area, and took a moment to take it all in.

If there was one thing he appreciated about women, is that they kept everything a lot cleaner than men did. The room had a very distinct divide to it, the contrasting aesthetics clearly evident.

Musa's side was a bit more cluttered, and covered head to toe in band merch and posters, which wasn't a shock to Riven. Her bed was in the shape of a piano, which he found incredibly amusing. It was also unmade and covered with sheets of random music, she must've been working on something before she got ready to hang with him. There were so many contrasting patterns and colors filling the space, but it all mixed together to make something incredibly _Musa._

He heard her step softly into the room and turned, noticing right away that she was holding up two different sodas. A quizzical look plastered on her features. "Okay so Fanta or Sprite? I'm also letting you know right now there is a correct answer and if you give me the wrong one I will make you climb back down and evacuate the premises."

"Fanta, of course."

She nodded, her eyebrows turned down in a very serious expression that Riven found rather cute, "You've proven worthy to stay. I'm glad you're a man of class, now let's go devour some pizza."

The shared living space of the Winx looked exactly like what he assumed a living area shared by five teenage fairies would look like. Plants littered the entire room, courtesy of Flora, clearly, and everything was some soft shade of pastel, giving the room a very feminine look.

It smelled faintly like vanilla mixed with the fresh pizza that was sitting on the living room table. And it seemed as though there were enough pillows and blankets scattered around the room for a small tribe, not just five college girls.

He planted himself next to Musa on the couch and watched as she booted up a video game console he's never seen before. Which, seeing as he shared a room with a bonafide tech nerd, was a very rare thing for him.

A controller was shoved into his hand, and he flipped it around and examined it. "What is this? I've never seen a console that looks like that one before."

Musa grinned, "It's from earth, Bloom brought it back with her. It's called a Nintendo Switch, Switch for short. It's fun as hell, and I'm about to kick your ass, so buckle up bud."

The pizza box was moved to sit between the two of them for easy access, and Riven heard a haunting song start to play through the speakers connected to the TV as a bunch of characters rapidly came onto the screen.

He was genuinely intrigued, especially now that a competition had just been proposed to him.

Musa was biting into a piece of pizza as she started to explain, "Okay, so first I'm letting the open song of this game play because it's sick as hell. But essentially this is a fighting game, you pick a character from the roster and just try to beat the snot out of everyone else playing and try your best to win."

Riven nodded, "Seems simple enough I guess, so what makes you think you're gonna beat me? You think you're some big hot shot at this game?"

"Well _obviously._ I've been wiping the floor with all the other girls, even Bloom who's had months to play this game. So I'd like to see you try and even come close winning against me."

Riven was competitive by nature, especially when some hot headed fairy was making bold statements about kicking his ass. He watched as she opened and clicked through the various screens, finally landing on the option where you could select your individual character. There was a huge range of options, and though Riven wasn't on Timmy levels of video game nerd, he did enjoy a good fighting game every now and again.

Musa took no time in picking her character, a deep voice boomed from the TV speakers, yelling out the name, "Paultena!"

Riven snickered, "Why'd you pick her? Think she's hot or something?"

Musa laughed, "Actually, yeah. When Bloom made us all play this for the first time I just decided to pick the character I thought was the most attractive. It was between her and this dude over here." She moved her cursor over to a guy who had a black fringe and a stern face. Interesting.

There were so many choices that Riven felt a bit overwhelmed, but he ended up going with the character named, 'Roy.' He looked formidable enough, and with him being a sword wielder he felt he had a bit of an advantage as his real life training might bleed over into this fictional game.

"Mmm, of course you'd pick that character." Musa exclaimed as she took a swig of her soda, "Alright, you ready to battle to the death?"

"Bring it on, pixie."

They were two rounds in and Musa was absolutely crushing him. He learned that while playing, you had three lives to try and win the battle, and whoever took the others, 'stocks' first, as Musa called them, you won. The concept was simple enough, but in execution he was getting his ass handed to him. After losing three times to Musa, he threw his arms up, irritated.

He knew this wasn't an actual battle, but he couldn't help feel that competitive nag at the back of his head telling him he needed to win at any cost. It was another thing he was working on.

Musa snickered, clearly amused by his frustration.

Riven shifted so he was looking at her better, throwing a pointed glare her way, "Come on, this is bullshit! I don't even know how to play this stupid game properly."

"Okay okay, fair enough. Listen, I'll help you learn. I guess it is a bit unfair that you had to go into it blind." she was giggling the whole time she spoke, clearly amused with his frustration.

She moved the pizza box off the couch and scooted close enough that their shoulders and hips lightly touched. They'd gone through more than half of the pizza, and he didn't think he'd ever seen someone drink so much orange Fanta in one sitting. He had no idea where she put it all.

"Okay so," She started to explain as she pointed at different buttons on the controller and explained their intended uses. He was really only half listening though, his motivation to win clouded by the fact that she was now in his personal bubble, all encompassing. He was more interested in the way her nose slopped on her face, and the fact that he was now hyper aware of the color of her lips, and how it made him have some less than platonic thoughts.

"Got it all? I know it's a bit much, but you'll get the hang of it."

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

They started another round, and Riven could tell she was going a bit easier on him this time. It frustrated him a bit, but also was endearing in a way. From what he did learn while she was explaining the nuances of the controls, he was able to barley beat her, giving him his first victory of the night.

She smirked at him, mirth simmering behind her eyes, "See, there you go, you finally won one. Can you stop whining about losing now?"

He threw a loose pepperoni at her, "Shut it, I wasn't whining. Now start another game."

They played well into the night, both of them getting a little too invested into virtually beating the shit out of one another. Musa won most of the games, her knowledge over the controls and of her character clearly giving her a gigantic advantage. Every so often though, Riven would surprise them both and win a round.

After finally losing count of how many times he was blasted off into another pixilated void, Riven gave up. Reluctantly admitting defeat, as he was a little too tired to keep thinking about mashing button after button to try and win a virtual game.

"We can watch a movie instead? Only if you wanna, I know it's late so if you want to head back to Red Fountain that's cool too."

Riven grunted, "Nah I'm down, what were you thinking?"

Musa grinned, "Something in the realm of horror?"

Riven always knew there was a reason he liked her so much, "Perfect."

And that's how Riven ended up staying at the Winx's dorm well past eleven; and somehow also ended up with a sleeping Musa laying dangerously close to his lap, snoring ever so lightly.

She had fallen asleep sometime around when the main character was getting possessed by some evil demon, clearly not invested enough to stay awake. Though she was small enough to fit on the couch comfortably length wise, Riven was now confronted with the uncomfortable realization that Musa's head was practically using his thigh as a pillow.

He has no idea how he was going to get up and leave without waking her. He would feel like such a dick for disturbing her, but the movie was now coming to a close and he really did have to get back to Red Fountain. They had a curfew after all.

The best solution he decided was to scoop her up while also moving himself, so that he could take her and deposit her in her own bed. She was so light he could barely believe it. Sometimes he really didn't understand how she could be so formidable in such a small frame.

He made his way to her room, making sure to be as quiet as possible. And as he placed her onto her odd shaped mattress, he noticed both her pigtails were sticking out wildly, bunching where his head rested. He made the quick decision to let her hair down for her. It really couldn't be comfortable sleeping with your hair up like that anyway, he reasoned.

He realized right as he pulled the first pigtail out that this had been the wrong choice, as he was both struck by how soft her hair was, but also with the fact that Musa was now stirring awake, clearly jostled by his touch.

"Mmm, wha-"

One of her eyes had cracked open, and a small hand was now clasped around his own. Which was currently holding onto one of her ponytails and a few strands of her dark hair, petrified.

"Oh, thanks, always huts to sleep n' these..."

Another small, sleepy hand came up to her other pigtail and she let it down herself. And with that she was back out, snoring like she hadn't just caught him essentially petting her like a house pet.

Riven left in a hurry, a bit flustered and in desperate need of some fresh air. It wasn't until he was back on the ground and fishing out his bike from some random bushes that he realized he had accidentally taken one of her ponies in his haste to evacuate the premises.

The last thing he did before he rode off was text her a picture of it, with a simple, _'come pick this up from me next time youre around RF.'_

At least this way she couldn't accuse him of stealing it from her.


End file.
